Lilac Hill Homestead

Pear Tree Care & Pear Recipes

Like any other plant, pear trees need to have proper care or you won’t get a good crop.  Each spring, when the first buds start appearing on the tree, I make sure to thoroughly spray the tree with dormant oil soap. This will help keep any eggs from hatching and pests from attacking your tree and fruit.

I’ve used both commercial dormant oil soaps and homemade dormant oil soaps. The homemade recipe I have used is:

1 cup of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of lemon scented liquid dish soap

1 gallon of water

 One gallon of this makes about enough to spray our pear tree once.  Make sure you have a good sturdy ladder and reach as high as you can.   Also be sure that you spray the trunk of the tree to discourage any bugs from climbing from the grass up the trunk.

Your pear tree will also need to be pruned.  Make sure that you prune any new growth that is growing straight up and down or any branches that are rubbing against each other.  Check with your extension office to determine the right time of year to prune a pear tree in your climate.  For more information on how to care for your fruit trees, this is a really helpful book to have:

 

 

Now that this is done, all you have to do is sit back and wait for the pears to ripen.  I generally pick my pears after the first frost.  I find that exposing the pears to a light frost makes them sweeter. If you don't have a frost in your area, then you will want a pear that is barely soft but not rock hard when you pick it.

Once your harvest is in, then comes the fun part! I love putting up my harvest and there are so many delicious recipes to choose from that I never get tired of finding new things to do with my fruit.

A few things that you'll need are a water bath canner, canning jars and a canning jar lifter:

  

 

There are a lot of different things you can make with pears.  You can make pear butter, canned pears, pear jam, etc. I'll share a few of my favorite recipes with you so you can find your own favorites.

Pear Jam

4 cups prepared (peeled, finely chopped) fruit
1/4 cup lemon juice
7-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. butter
1 pouch fruit pectin

Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

Peel and core pears. Finely chop or grind fruit. Measure four cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-quart saucepot. Stir in lemon juice.

Add sugar; stir. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Pear Bread

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
3 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
4 very firm pears, thinly sliced
3 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and generously grease two large loaf pans. (The long pieces of pear make the loaves more susceptible to sticking in the pans and falling apart, so make sure you grease the pans generously.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, vegetable oil, molasses, and eggs. Mix in salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and allspice. Stir the pear slices in, coating them evenly. Stir in the flour. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 to 65 minutes. Allow loaves to cool in pan about ten minutes before removing them and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

My very favorite thing to do with pears is to make jam.  I also make jam from our berries and apples that I pick at u-pick spots.  For a fantastic book full of jam recipes, try this one: