How To Freeze Fresh Pears
81All These Yummy Pears!
It's so easy to preserve pears in your freezer. I love a delicious pear, and when they start coming into season, they're everywhere. We have friends with trees and they give us boxes full of them.
It's a fast and easy process.
How To Know When They're Ripe
When my neighbor gives me a box of Bartlett pears, some will be green, while others will be perfectly ripe.
"Perfectly ripe" pears have a slight yellow'ish color, and the skin can be barely pressed with a finger. Don't let them get too ripe. If you're unsure, take a bite.
Since they ripen unevenly, putting them into the freezer is the easiest way to handle them.
Prepare Your Pears
Using a potato peeler, peel the pears, then slice them in half. I use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds, then my paring knife to remove the "stem" that extends into the pear. You'll see it when you slice into the pear.
Fill a large pot with water and squeeze a lemon into it.
As you slice the pears, drop them into the lemon water. The acid of the lemon will keep them fresh and white until you're ready for the next step.
If I'm working with a few gallons of pears, I'll peel, core and slice all of them into my lemon water before moving on to the next step. If I have several boxes full, then once I have my pot half full of pears I move on to the next step.
You'll see that freezing pears is incredibly easy.
The Next Steps
You'll want to add one tablespoon of Fruit-Fresh to every four cups of pears. Then add 2/3 cup of sugar to each four cups of pears.
Here's how I do it: I dip my measuring cup into the pot of lemon water filled with sliced pears, then pour them into my colander. After I have four cups of (drained) pears I put them into a bowl and add the FruitFresh and the sugar.
By the way, if you don't have Fruit-Fresh (available at grocery stores, it's just ascorbic acid) you can squeeze half of a lemon onto them. The lemon (or Fruit-Fresh) preserves their color. The sugar, by the way, helps to preserve them.
And Into The Freezer
I use quart freezer bags. Make sure you write the date on the bag. I also write where the pears came from. Once they're frozen you won't be able to tell one pear from another.
I put 2 cups into each quart bag, press out the air, then lay them flat on the counter.
Once I have 4 or 5 bags then I stack them carefully in the freezer. Once they're frozen you can move the bags to another part of the freezer. You'll be glad you took this step of freezing them flat. They'll stack much easier later.
Final Thoughts
And that's all there is to it.
Pretty easy, huh?
The pears will keep for up to a year in your freezer.
Use them just like fresh pears -- for cobblers, pies or tarts. I usually take out two bags and put them in my refrigerator to thaw, then later I'll make my dough for the pies, pour the thawed pears into it, and pop it into the oven. It's so easy -- and we get to enjoy the fresh taste of pears year-round.
Make sure your pears are completely thawed before putting them into your pies or cobblers. If they're still half frozen, it'll make your crust soggy. This is the voice of experience...
Hope this information helps you to preserve your pears for year-round eating.
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Comments
Hi Cheryl,
Excellent! You'll love how easy this process is, and how delicious the pears are.
Thanks for writing --
Buster
sweet! awesome tips and intructions. i'll have to try that now before the local summer fruits end. Thanks!! :D
Hey there,
Thanks for the encouraging words -- good luck with your pears!
Buster
Thanks so much for this. It worked really well for me!
Hi Amanda,
I'm so glad you took the time to let me know. Enjoy those pears!
Buster
This sounds easy, but you left out how long to boil the pears. That would be nice to know because this is my first time to do any thing like this. Thank you. Vee
Hi Vee,
The instructions are correct. When freezing pears, there is no boiling. That's why putting them into your freezer is so fast and easy.
;-)
Thanks for taking the time to write.
Buster
Interesting hub. What other uses do frozen pears have?
Hi Suzie,
Use the pears the same way you would fresh pears: to make double-crust pie; for making cobblers and crisps; for making pear sauce (same idea as apple sauce); for freeform tarts like the French make; as a side dish to serve with pork chops (all you do is cook the pears with a half cup of water till they're soft -- they're a great side dish with pork.)
Hope this helps --
Buster
Where would I be without the internet? I have just picked the last crop of rhubarb, apples & raspberries from my garden in the UK this morning and have frozen them for winter dinner parties. Then my sister gave me a huge bag of pears from her garden this afternoon and I wasn't sure if I could freeze them or not. Thank you for your freezing tips now I just need to find some interesting recipes for pears!
Hello May,
"Without the internet"...? I can't even think about it.
;-)
Thanks so much for taking the time to write -- I hope those pears turn out beautifully for you.
You can use the frozen pears as you would fresh pears -- in cobblers and pies, etc. Check back here, if you like. I'm planning to write a couple of my pear recipes into these hubs soon.
Warmest regards,
Buster
i am so glad i found you, all the other sights i have looked at all want to pickle pears, i want sweet pears and the way you do then looks so easy so i can now preserve my pears and eat then as they should be eaten all year round , thank you so much
Hi Kath,
I'm not a fan of pickling pears either.
;-)
Thanks for taking the time to write. Good luck!
Buster
Can frozen pears be used in making breads--like apples and such?
Hi
thanks for recipe which I was searching web for and looks good but what are cups? Do they relate to weights or volumes?
Hi JoAnn,
Yes, they can be used in breads. Make sure you let them fully defrost before adding them to your batter. I usually put them into a large pan, (still in their freezer bag) and cover them with hot water. After about 20 minutes pour this water off, add more hot water, and wait another 10 minutes or so. You'll be able to feel when they're defrosted.
Then use them!
By the way, if you let them defrost and then let -- oh, say, 8 hours pass -- you may find that your fruit has discolored a little bit. It doesn't hurt the quality of the fruit, but in baked goods I want the fruit to look appetizing. This is why I defrost in hot water, over a short'ish amount of time.
Thanks for writing --
Buster
Hi JoAnn,
Yes, they can be used in breads. Make sure you let them fully defrost before adding them to your batter. I usually put them into a large pan, (still in their freezer bag) and cover them with hot water. After about 20 minutes pour this water off, add more hot water, and wait another 10 minutes or so. You'll be able to feel when they're defrosted.
Then use them!
By the way, if you let them defrost and then let -- oh, say, 8 hours pass -- you may find that your fruit has discolored a little bit. It doesn't hurt the quality of the fruit, but in baked goods I want the fruit to look appetizing. This is why I defrost in hot water, over a short'ish amount of time.
Thanks for writing --
Buster
Just in time-- my kitchen table is filled with ripening pears. Our pear tree decided it was a good year to produce. Thanks for the tips.
Hi Rochelle,
I'm glad to hear your tree produced a bumper crop this year!
Thanks for taking the time to write.
Buster
Hi,
a friend from work who's very farmy told me to just cut up apples and freeze them - using no sugar or lemon of any kind. So, I cut up a bunch of cheap "seconds" apples and put them into foodsaver bags and froze them. I don't expect them to be beautiful. I'll just use them for crisps, mushy pies, cobblers and breads. Are they going to be acceptable the way I did them? Oh, I also kept most of the skins on, unless they needed trimming. I thought the skin was an important nutrient and fiber source. Anything I plan to make will be much more Moosewood than Four Seasons. Thanks for any advice.
Hi Bert,
Why don't you write to me in about 4 months or so and let me know how they're doing? Will they turn brown? Become mushy in an odd non-appley way? I'm not sure...
As to the skins -- they tend to get chewy if they're left on the apples then frozen. Four Seasons aside, even Moosewooders tend to shy from chewy, stringy skins.
:)
Hope to hear from you!
Buster
Hi, Buster.
Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll find out in January. I suspect they'' all turn brown, but that didn't bother me, theoretically. As you said, the skin may be a problem. If I have to I can use all I have previously frozen as a sort of apple pulp for apple bread, or cake. I can put in the Mouli. At least I'll have a tasty, nutritious quick bread. I have more "seconds" so, I can also try freezing them in the tried-and-true way. Incidentally, we also have a quince tree. I have been cutting up little pieces and just freezing them (in foodsaver vac-bags). I cut off all the skins. I guess I thought I could just cook the quince chunks when I am ready to use them. I hope it works. It appears I have a lot to learn. Thanks, Bert
OMG, I have another idea/question. My wife got an apple peeler-corer from a kitchen party group, "PC." Could I freeze the whole coily-orb just the way it comes off of the spinner? I could cut it up when I'm ready to use it. I'll even consider giving it a lemon juice and/or ascorbic acid bath. Let me know.
I live in Cambridge, UK and have been searching for ways to preserve the glut of pears I have this year, stumbled across your site,wonderful keep on with the good work
Hi Bert,
Do you know how the apple peel becomes tough if you leave it on the counter? That's what happens to it in the freezer. Obviously, try whatever you'd like, but...
:-)
Hi Susie,
Glad you found the pear info -- good luck!
Buster
I have pears to pick but Waspers are on them. How do I kill the Waspers? I am afraid i will get stinged.
Hi Diana,
I don't have any expertise in this area.
A friend of mine dragged a water hose to his tree and sprayed the water (the "shower" type, rather than a long blast of water) and that caused many of them to fly away, and of course the ones who were hit with water weren't able to fly.
I have no idea whether this would work for you or not. Obviously, bug spray is a no-no!
Thanks for writing --
Buster
WHAT DOES FREEZING DO TO THE TEXTURE OF THE PEAR? CAN WE JUST THAW OUT A BAG AND EAT THEM-OR ARE THEY JUST MUSH?
Hey there,
Freezing doesn't affect the texture -- you can thaw them and use them in any dessert you want. As to eating them out of the bag... it depends on your taste. Why not give it a try?
:-)
Buster
Cheryl says:
3 months ago
Thank you so much! I have a tree loaded with round pears and had no idea what to do with them.