Another canning recipe, because it’s the season and I got a little addicted to putting food in a jar. This one’s another boozy delight you could serve to guests around Christmas with some chocolate cake or vanilla ice cream.
Vanilla Bourbon Pears
Ingredients:
8-10 Bosc Pears, firm yet ripe
2 cups brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean
2-3 Tablespoons Bourbon (per jar)
1-2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
6-8 Cups Water
Supplies:
1 waterbath canner pot with rack
Canning tongs
Magnetic lid lifter (we didn’t bother with this)
Canning Jars
Large spoon or ladle
1 large pot
1 large bowl
Makes about 4 1 Litre Canning Jars
It depends on how tightly you pack them.
Directions:
It’s hard to give an exact amount of fruit you’ll need for this recipe as fruit size varies and the way you pack them varies too, this is why I always make more sugar syrup than needed just in case!
Put your canner pot with rack on the stove filled with 4 1 litre jars and water. Bring to a boil and sterilize jars for 25 minutes. For the last 10-15 minutes add in the lids and canning tongs plus other utensils you plan on using.
While that’s boiling, peel and cut your pears into halves or quarters. I prefer quarters as they are easier to pack tightly into a jar. You’ll want to have a bowl to place them into and cover with lemon juice to prevent browning.
Make your sugar syrup by adding 2 cups of sugar to 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and add a few tablespoons of lemon juice and a few tablespoons of vanilla extract.
Once your jars of sterilized, carefully place them on a clean towel. At this time, add your pears to the jars. To each jar add one shot glass of bourbon or 3 or so tablespoons. Carefully fill the jar with your hot sugar syrup, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top, but making sure the pears of completely covered to prevent browning.
Place on your lids and rings firmly but not too tight and return to boiling canner pot to process for no more than 30 minutes. Make sure the jars are covered in at least 1 inch of water over the lids.
After no more than 30 minutes, remove from water with canning tongs, place on a towel at let cool completely. Make sure they are in a draft free area, avoid handing and bumping them. At this point you may here a faint “ping” this is a good sign, it means your jars are sealing!
Once they are cool, gently press on the tops of your jars, if they don’t bounce back, it means they sealed perfectly. If you find it hasn’t sealed, don’t be sad, just place it in your fridge, the fruit will keep for a few weeks.
Now you’ll want to unscrew the rings slightly to let air get in there to prevent rusting. Don’t worry, your jars will still stay sealed as long as you’re gentle. Once they’re dry, screw it back on and store away for at least 1 month before opening.
So I know this is an old post but this looks amazing! Can you substitute for Bartlett pears and still get a similar flavor? We get these with our CSA and I’m hoping this is a great answer
Hi Jaime, I’ve never tried it with bartlett. As far as I know they aren’t the idea pears to use for canning because of their skin and water content, but I’m not an expert! I’d hate to say yes and then they turn out horrible. Bartlett’s are best eaten fresh, perhaps with some brie cheese on a baguette, a little arugula and some balsamic glaze and walnuts and don’t forget the prosciutto 🙂
Hey Jamie, I can Bartlett pears every year. They can just fine, stay firm and taste great.
Does elevation affect the water bath processing time?
yes, I don’t know the exact timing for that, you’ll want to look that up on a trusted website like Bernardin Canning. They will have recipes on there for canned Pears or Peaches, just use that time, it should be similar.
Would 20 min. In water bath be good for pint jars? TIA
Hi Valeri
I’m not too sure, I personally use the longer time for any size jar. I would recommend referring to Bernardin’s website or Ball jars website they should have canning times available.
These look amazing! Thanks for sharing.
We don’t have any bourbon in the house so I wonder if I could use rum? Thoughts?
Hi Amberle,
Rum should work, although I haven’t tried it. Or you can skip the alcohol and put a splash more vanilla extract.
LOVE, LOVE this canning recipe! I used whole vanilla bean 1″ pieces in each jar of pears. The added lemon juice gave the vanilla and brown sugar syrup a tangy flavor…delicious!
So glad you love it Donna! It’s a yummy one for sure!
Does the bourbon get cooked off by water bath processing them or does the alcohol content remain?
Hi Sienna
Yes a lot of the alcohol gets cooked off. I’m not really a drinker and don’t love the taste of alcohol, but there’s something about the vanilla mixed with the depth of flavor that comes from the bourbon that goes really great with the pears. Happy canning!
I use fireball and also add raisins, great flavor, P
That sounds a bit too wild for me, but thanks for sharing the idea! 🙂
I canned Seckel pears with bourbon, honey and vanilla and they are delicious.
Hi, just found this post on Pinterest sounds great but I didn’t find when you add the vanilla and how much? I’d love to make these for Father’s day.
Hi Cindy, thanks for reading! These taste best if you can them and then let them sit in the jar for at least 3-4 months to let the flavours mature.
As for vanilla, thanks for noticing, looks like I forgot to add in the amount. You can be safe with about 1 tablespoon, or add in half a vanilla bean instead.
Have fun!
I want to can these safely. What is “a few tablespoons” of lemon juice? I want to make sure it’s properly acidic and that type of measurement seems quite…inexact.
Hi lnez,
Perhaps you can find a canning recipe book or go to Bernardin’s canning website for recipes. I’m not a professional chef so I don’t have an answer. I haven’t had any issues canning with this recipe, just adding 3 or more tablespoons of lemon juice. If you’re worried, find a different source. Thanks for asking! Good luck!
How much bourbon?
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for asking, I should have mentioned that the amount of Bourbon is up to you. I personally don’t love too much alcohol so I just do a splash for some flavour, maybe a few tablespoons per jar as mentioned in the instructions below the ingredient list, but you could go with more if you like it stronger.
I would like to use this post in my pear roundup on the blog.
Hi Gina,
Feel free to share a link to my blog post and credit with my blog name. Thanks.
I used 1 shot of Ballotin Carmel Turtle whiskey and it was AMAZING!!! We served them over vanilla ice cream, I was fighting off my kids! Wanted to reduce the syrup to pour over which was difficult because we were camping. I will definitely try the reduction next time! I may try 1.5-2 shots next time to booze it up a little. 1 was delicious though!