Let’s jump in where we left off last time with canning pears using our Ball Blue Book of Canning recipe on pg. 20: Cinnamon Pears in Apple Juice.
The pears are warming to a gentle boil in a single layer while the water bath canner is coming up to a boil. Everything is ready and that sense of urgency fills the air as you work quickly to get all the jars filled. All components must be hot so that the jars will not break when added to the canner.
I pour hot water over the lids. The warm water softens the seals (the red part around the edge of
the lids) so that they will make the proper seal when they are in the water bath canner. I have my lid lifter magnet that I will use to get them out of the hot water.
Now I carefully fill the pint jars with the warm pears trying to get them to over-lap and fill the jars but not squashing the fruit while arranging the slices. This takes time but if you are patient, you will have fewer air bubbles to have to deal with next.
Next I cover the fruit with warm apple juice.
This canning tool is used to help you remove air bubbles that have gotten trapped when you are filling the jar with fruit and hot liquid. If you don’t remove the air bubbles, they can rise to the top of the jar, causing pressure to build and the jar will not seal correctly so it is really important to take the time to go around the jars with the tool twice.
It took me a while to figure out how to add the cinnamon stick without displacing too
many pears but I got it accomplished. That’s the fun of trying a different recipe!
My beloved husband was kind enough to help show how to do this vital step of taking a clean moist towel (or paper towel) all around the edge of the jar rim. It must be absolutely clean before it receives the warm lid and ring as any debris can prevent the jar from sealing.
Here are jars sitting in the rack above the water waiting for me to fill the rest of the jars. Note that the rings have been screwed on only finger-tip tight, too tight and 
pressure builds up causing them to release steam or not seal.
I lower all seven pints down into the water bath making sure that they are covered with at least one inch of water. I put the lid on and waited for the canner to come to a complete boil. Turning down the heat to a constant gentle boil, I processed them for the 20 minutes required by the canning recipe. It is really necessary to 
allow the jars to sit in the water after the timer goes off for at least 5 minutes. Pulling them out too soon might cause them to release steam and/or not seal so wait please. Then take the rack and put it on the edge of the canner to allow the jars to cool.
The picture at the top of this blog is the finished product, note that the rings have been removed to prevent moisture build-up over the length of the storage. I can’t wait to serve these to Jim! I hope this was helpful.
Annie May
