Even after living here in Hawaii for many years, I still miss the distinct beauty of the changing seasons… especially from Summer to Fall. Growing up in Northern California, I loved watching the trees change color; the crisp mornings; and especially harvest time for Apples & Pears at Apple Hill.

Finding fresh Apples & Pears on our island just doesn’t happen, and when Costco does fly them in, they are crazy expensive and often moldy. But, I walked into Costco a few weeks ago and found pears on clearance for only $3 a box!!! They were slightly over-ripe & bruised, but still good, so I bought 4 boxes and got ready to make my Homemade Pear Sauce Recipe for canning & baby food.

Pear Sauce usually takes a back seat to the popular and more readily available Apple Sauce, but I love its unique fall flavor and texture! These ripe Pears also make perfect Baby Food & great Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups. Plus, with my trusty Vitamix, the process is SO EASY! There was no need to peel the Pears, just core & go!

Once my jars had been filled & processed, I looked at them all lined up on my counter and realized they needed a pretty label – so I made one and am sharing it with you too! You can view the printable instructions & download the Free Pear Sauce Canning Label Printable HERE.

Here’s a link to my Apple Sauce Recipe *coming soon* and Apple Sauce Canning Label Printable.

The Tools & Ingredients Used in this Recipe:

Homemade Pear Sauce Recipe

Author: A Little Insanity - Erika
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 5 pints
Category: Canning
Cuisine: Canned Goods

Description

An easy Homemade Pear Sauce that can be canned, frozen, used for baby food or snacking! No need to peel… just core & go!

Ingredients

10-12 Ripe Pears (I use Bartlett, but many other varieties will work as well)
5-6 Cups Water (1/2 Cup per Pear)

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:

1/2 -1 Teaspoon Cinnamon (or to taste)

Instructions

Wash & Core Pears – There’s no need to peel them if you plan to process them in your Vitamix or Blendtec. I use this wonderful tool to core my Pears quickly.
Cut Pears in Half or Quarters
Place Pears in large stock pot – I use an enameled cast iron dutch oven.
Cover with approximately 1/2 cup of water PER pear – about 5 cups for this recipe.
Let pears simmer over medium heat until skin turns lightly brown and flesh can be gently cut in half with spoon… This takes approximately 25-40 minutes. Try not to overcook them or they fall apart – this makes it difficult to remove them from the pot for processing & makes the mixture more watery than desired.
If you want smooth Pear Sauce, remove the pears from the heat & spoon them into your VitaMix blender along with some of the water/juice from the pot (you won’t use all of it – just about 2-3 cups). I’ve found that 10-12 pears is a perfect fit for a full Vitamix (if filled to the top, this batch will make approx. 10 cups of puree/sauce).
Blend on High until smooth.

CANNING INSTRUCTIONS:

If you are not familiar with the basics of canning, click here to learn more.
Wash Jars, Lids & Bands & Sterilize your Jars by simmering them in a Canning Pot while Pears are cooking.
Right before pears are done, warm your Lids in a small saucepan over low heat.
Once Pears are Pureed in the Vitamix, pour the piping hot pear puree directly from the VitaMix into your prepared mason jars leaving 1/4″ head space.
Place your lids and bands on (to finger tight) and return jars to the water bath for processing. Make sure they are covered with at least 1″ of water.
Bring the canning water back up to boiling. Process Jars for 15 Minutes (Pint) or 20 Minutes (Quart). If you are above 1000′ sea level process the cans for an additional 5 minutes (extending the time by 5 minutes for every 3000′ more feet).
Remove jars carefully and allow to cool overnight before storing them. Be sure that each jar has sealed properly.

FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:

Let Pear mixture cool and place puree in Ziplock bags or freezer safe containers. If you are freezing the sauce for baby food, fill empty ice cube trays with puree & freeze – then store in an airtight container until you are ready to use them. I like to fill a quart sized Ziplock bag with 1 1/2 cup of puree, then freeze laying flat – this makes it easy to stack them in your freezer & for breaking off a piece for defrosting later.