Storage plays an important role in the ripening process of pears. While it is best to have them as soon as they ripen, sometimes you may want to keep them for later. In that case, you may need to preserve and store them properly, which you can do either in the form of canning, refrigerating, or freezing them.
Before storing them, if you want to know how pears are matured, read our article on How To Ripen Pears. Our article on ripening pears will take you through the entire process, from choosing the right kind of pears to the different ways of aging them, so that they are deemed perfect for consumption. Let us look at the different storage techniques in detail through the FAQs given below.
Can Pears Be Canned?
If you are someone who enjoys the idea of having home-canned fruits sitting on your shelves, then canning the pears is definitely an option you can explore. Canning is the best way to preserve your fruit. You can use a light syrup, a ratio of a cup of sugar and a quart of water to begin the canning process. You can substitute that by using apple or grape juice as your canning liquid. However, note that a minimally sugared solution will aid the fruit in retaining its color whilst storing it for a longer duration. To enhance the taste, you can also use spices like star anise, cardamom, or cinnamon given that these spices perfectly complement the flavor of pears. You can add vanilla or nutmeg as well. [1]
Canning is the best way to preserve pears. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Should Pears Be Refrigerated?
- Those who handpick pears, ideally keep them in cold storage soon after they are harvested. This helps them to ripen. However, this cannot be done with the store-bought ones.
- Pears that you purchase from the store have already been put through this process and shouldn’t be placed in the fridge until they’re ripe.
- Once pears are ripe enough to be eaten, you can keep them in the refrigerator to prevent them from getting spoiled.
How To Freeze Pears?
Freezing pears is the best way to store them for the long term. Follow the simple steps given below to freeze pears.
- Step 1: Once the pears are decently ripe, you can wash, and slice them.
- Step 2: Apply 1/2 a teaspoon of water-ascorbic acid mixture or a lemon juice-and-water mixture to these slices. This will prevent the pears from turning brown.
- Step 3: Once done, you can then add 2 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil. As the sugar starts to dissolve, you can add these pear slices into them for 1-2 minutes. This is known as the syrup method of preserving the pears before storage.
- Step 4: Thereafter, pack these slices into airtight bags and pack them into the freezer.
- Step 5: You can substitute this method with the dry pack one, which will have you place the pear slices neatly in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze till they turn solid. You can then remove and put them in ziplock freezer bags.
