# Asian Pears



## coalroadcabin (Jun 16, 2004)

Can you substitute Asian Pears for for regular pears in a canning recipe? My co-worker has an Asian Pear tree that's loaded and has offered the pears to me.


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## silverbackMP (Dec 4, 2005)

coalroadcabin said:


> Can you substitute Asian Pears for for regular pears in a canning recipe? My co-worker has an Asian Pear tree that's loaded and has offered the pears to me.


I'm sure you could; however, an Asian Pear normally keeps a long time if kept cold and their sweetness increases with age. If this is a Korean Giant (Olympic) it will keep an extremely long time (up to 9 months) in cool conditions.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

Asian pears are considered a low acid fruit, one of only 3 or 4 fruits in that category, so extra acid in the form of bottled lemon or lime juice needs to be added when canning them. Otherwise they can be substituted for other varieties of pears with no problems.

Canning Asian pears: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_02/asian_pears.html


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## coalroadcabin (Jun 16, 2004)

Thank you both!

SilverbackMP - Since they keep well in cold storage, I'll definately keep some in the fridge for fresh eating. I have no idea what variety Asian pear it is - my co-worker bought the tree a few years ago from the clearance isle and wasn't even sure what it was until it began to bear fruit. She doesn't like pears and her family isn't that wild about them either so - I get some freebies :grin:


JudyLou, 
I was hoping to be able to make the Pear Honey Marmalade recipe that is in the "So Easy To Preserve" book. (My grandma used to make it and I was really excited to see an approved recipe for it!) The recipe calls for crushed pineapple - would that be enough acid since it's a jelled product - or should I add additional acid (probably in the form of lime juice since I don't care for lemon) I'm not exactly sure how to go about adding acid - would I add it to the marmalade instead of the jar? 

For the plain canned pears, I will be sure to add the lime juice to the jars before I fill them.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

Yes the pineapple will be enough if you use the juice too but you can also add lime if you wish too - that sounds delicious with the lime! I too prefer using lime over lemon when the lemon is called for. Many of the jam recipes for the pears are similar to the fig recipes - juice of one lemon or 1 T lemon juice plus lemon rind zest per 4 cups of fruit - so it doesn't take much and you just mix it in with the fruit. It also helps with setting. 

You can sub lime for lemon with no problem. Are you going to make it a full sugar marmalade or low sugar? I did the low sugar one year and wasn't really happy with it. It was a much weaker set, almost runny, and it went moldy on me within 10 days after opening.


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## coalroadcabin (Jun 16, 2004)

Since I'm trying to end up with the same taste I remember from my grandma's pear honey marmalade I'm using the full sugar.

The recipe calls for 4 cups chopped pears, 1 cup crushed pineapple and 4 cups of sugar. There's a variation listed that says you can substitute orange and lemon pulp instead of the pineapple. 

If I remember my grandmother's recipe correctly, she used both oranges and pineapple. I'm thinking I might use 1/2 cup crushed pineapple and 1/2 cup orange pulp. Since the recipe only makes 2 half pint jars, I'll add 1 Tbs. lime juice. I hope it turns out as tasty as I remember!


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