FIG or PEAR PRESERVES...The Old Fashioned Way

Recipe Rating:	4 Ratings5
Categories:	Other Breakfast, Fruit Appetizers, Other Appetizers, Other Snacks
Keywords:	canning, fig, preserves, pear

Ingredients

	figs or pears
	sugar
3 or 4 Tbsp	lemon juice

Pinched by hellchell1, and 248 more.

Bea L.

Well Seasoned

Emerald Isle, NC (pop. 3,655)

coffeetime

Member Since Oct 2010

Bea's Notes:

This is my dear sweet mama's recipe, which was handed down through generations past. I love preserves so she shared the recipe with me.

I have made these preserves countless times. When I was first learning to make them it was a disaster. I cooked them too long and once they cooled I could barely get my spoon out of the jar. I was so disappointed but I have these babies down pat now.

You can make either fig or pear preserves with this same recipe. They are so good in a biscuit, on toast or on a saltine cracker.

Dianne Thomason and Joanne Bellezza-Loughlin have provided pics of the pear preserves they made from this recipe. Good job, girls!!!

Directions

Preparing the fruit:
*For Figs...wash and slice. Small figs cut in half. Large figs cut into fourths.
*For Pears...peel and slice.
*Get out a large pot you plan on cooking them in.
*Get out a medium size bowl for measuring.

Measuring:
Use the same bowl to measure fruit and sugar.
Put into large pot three (3) parts fruit to one (1) part sugar. Be sure to use the pot you're going to be cooking them in. Cover with lid and let stand overnight (not regrigerated) or for 10 to 12 hours to allow the sugar to melt.

Getting started:
Remove lid and stir. Add 3 or 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and stir again. This just makes them a beautiful golden color.

Cooking:
Cook on medium-high without the lid. You want a steady rolling boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to bottom of pot. Boil for 1 1/2 hours to 4 hours, depending on amount of fruit you have. A smaller amount won't take as long so use your own judgement.

Jar them:
Laddle them into clean jars and seal tightly. If you want you can turn the jars upside down for 15 minutes then right side up but it's really not necessary. A lot of older people used to do this. You should hear them "pop" within 30 to 40 minutes. If you have one that doesn't seal, just put it in the fridge.

Tips:
I start checking them after they have cooked for about an hour and a half or so. I put a small amount into a cup and let it get cool to see how runny it is. I keep doing this so I'll know when they're the consistency I want. In the meantime, I put my jars, lids and rings into the dishwasher on the rinse cycle. This way they are sterile. Be sure they are absolutely dry before filling. Also, I always carefully remove the rings before storing. You can reuse the rings but not the lids. Good luck.

Comments

1-12 of 92 comments

Showing OLDEST First
(Switch to Newest First)

Bea L. coffeetime

Bea Liles [coffeetime] has shared this recipe with discussion groups:
Canning Corner
CHATTERBOX
Cooking Tips and Hints
I Love Everything.....
Kitchen Sisters
Looking for...
Southern Cooks Unite
What's Cookin' Today?

Colleen Sowa colleenlucky7

Jul 25, 2011

Thanks for sharing this old family favorite!!! xo

Vanessa "Nikita"... Kitkat777

Vanessa "Nikita" Milare [Kitkat777] has shared this recipe with discussion groups:
Easy Recipes for Caregivers
Everything Cooking made Easy

Colleen Sowa colleenlucky7

Colleen Sowa [colleenlucky7] has shared this recipe with discussion groups:
Magic in the Kitchen
Unique Recipes and Tips
Physically Challenged Cooks and Those that Love Them!
SHAM WOW POW WOW GROUP
Military Families
Writing recipes and making new cookbook's new group
Create a CookBook
After 6 mints
I NEED a Picture to Cook!!!
Kitchen Hints
Genealogy of Recipes
Lemons Lemons and Lemons
Small Towns - Big taste!
Sweet Tooth
Strange Recipes . . .
UNITED IN SPECIAL PRAYER TIME
writing recipes and making new cookbook's

Bea L. coffeetime

Jul 25, 2011

You're more than welcome, Colleen. xo

L D windella

Jul 25, 2011

Oh Bea! I remember my Grandmother's pear preserves,they were sooo good! We used to drive to a place where we would pick pears and My Mother and Grandmother would make preserves and can some,I'm going to try this recipe and see how I do! My Grandmother made the best biscuits ever,I'm going to try recreating her biscuits AND this preserve!

Jan W Neeniejan

Jul 25, 2011

thanks Bea, these sound so good and it's a fairly easy recipe...might be making pear preserves soon!!! ♥

Bea L. coffeetime

Jul 26, 2011

I can remember sitting outside under a tree and helping mama peel and slice pears so she could make these preserves. Jan, if you make some maybe it'll be a nice cool day for ya. LaWanda, I hope you've posted your grandmother's biscuit recipe.

Jan W Neeniejan

Jul 26, 2011

Hi Bea...it was really nice on Mon., so far it's only 62 this morning so maybe another good one...if humidity would just drop, it would be a lot better!!!