How do I make pear jam or pear preserves?

Pears are low in acid and low in pectin, so every tested pear spread adds lemon, and the jams add pectin too. You have two tested choices. USDA's pear-apple jam is 2 cups finely chopped pears, 1 cup chopped apples, 6 1/2 cups sugar, 1/3 cup bottled lemon juice, cinnamon and 6 ounces of liquid pectin, for 7 to 8 half-pints. NCHFP's pear preserves cook peeled pear halves or quarters in syrup with a sliced lemon until clear. Use European pears. Asian pears need added acid to be canned at all, and no tested Asian pear jam was found. This page covers both recipes, the lemon, Asian pears and processing.

Jam or preserves: choose the texture first

Why pears need lemon

NCHFP puts pears in its "always needs help" band, fruit that always needs added acid, pectin or both [3]. University of Wisconsin Extension names pears, with peaches and figs, as low-acid fruits and says to add bottled lemon juice to them according to tested recipes [4]. Acid is part of how pectin gels; NCHFP says that with too little acid the gel will never set [5]. So the lemon in each recipe below stays at the amount given. Bottled juice is specified in the jam because its acidity is consistent; USDA uses bottled lemon juice in its remake procedures for the same reason [1]. More on acid, lemon juice and the set.

USDA pear-apple jam

From USDA's Guide 7 [1].

Ingredients: 2 cups peeled, cored and finely chopped pears (about 2 pounds); 1 cup peeled, cored and finely chopped apples; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 6 1/2 cups sugar; 1/3 cup bottled lemon juice; 6 ounces liquid pectin. Yield: about 7 to 8 half-pints.

1. Have pre-sterilized jars ready; Guide 7's general jam directions call for pre-sterilized Mason jars [1].
2. Crush the chopped apples and pears in a large saucepan and stir in the cinnamon.
3. Thoroughly mix the sugar and lemon juice into the fruit and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly.
4. Immediately stir in the pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat, quickly skim off foam, and fill sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
6. Adjust lids and process.

UC Master Food Preservers use this same recipe in a 2024 demonstration handout, with the same quantities [6]. University of Wisconsin Extension also publishes a peach, nectarine or pear jam with liquid pectin: 4 cups crushed fruit (3 pounds whole), 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice, 7 1/2 cups sugar and one pouch liquid pectin, for 8 half-pints, with a warning not to use white-fleshed peaches or nectarines [4]. UW's recipes come with UW's chart: 5 minutes in sterilized jars up to 1,000 feet, then 1 more minute for each added 1,000 feet of elevation (UW's own examples: 6 minutes at 1,250 feet, 7 at 2,010) [4].

NCHFP pear preserves

From NCHFP, adapted from So Easy to Preserve (2014) [2].

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups sugar; 2 1/2 cups water; 6 medium hard-ripe pears (about 2 pounds), cored, peeled and cut in halves or quarters; 1 1/2 cups more sugar; 1 lemon, thinly sliced. Yield: about 5 half-pints.

Day one

1. Boil the first 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water for 2 minutes.
2. Add the pears and boil gently for 15 minutes.
3. Add the second 1 1/2 cups sugar and the lemon slices, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
4. Boil rapidly until the fruit is clear, about 25 minutes.
5. Cover and let stand 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Day two

1. Sterilize canning jars.
2. Heat the fruit and syrup to boiling.
3. Pack the fruit into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
4. Cook the syrup 3 to 5 minutes, or longer if it is too thin, and pour it over the fruit, keeping 1/4 inch headspace.
5. Wipe the rims with a dampened clean paper towel, adjust two-piece metal canning lids, and process in a boiling water canner.

NCHFP notes that small pears may be preserved whole with the stems on, peeled and with the stems washed well; that you may add a piece of preserved ginger to each jar; and that Kiefer pear preserves should be stored in a cool, dry place for 3 to 5 weeks after processing [2]. NCHFP's sugar substitute FAQ, printed with the recipe, says sugar is required to preserve syrupy fruit preserves as published, and without it the longer fruit canning times would apply [2].

If your pear pieces float or shrink in the jar, the causes and fixes are on floating, tough or shriveled fruit.

Asian pears: a different fruit for canning

Asian pears are round, crisp and juicy, and they are a different case from the European pears these recipes were written for.

• Oregon State University Extension says Asian pear acidity varies by variety, some varieties can be classed as low acid, and all home-canned Asian pears must be acidified to prevent the growth of the bacteria that cause botulism [7]. For canned Asian pear halves, it adds 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar or 2 tablespoons to each quart [7].
• University of Wisconsin Extension likewise says Asian pears are lower in acid than other pears and acid must be added to each jar before canning [8].

Those amounts are for canned pear pieces in syrup, not for jam. Neither source, nor any other checked for this page, publishes a tested Asian pear jam or preserve. Do not substitute Asian pears into the pear-apple jam or the preserves above. If you want to keep Asian pears, can them by Oregon State's tested method with its acid, or freeze them. Any Asian pear jam you make by your own recipe is untested and belongs in the refrigerator or freezer. The full list of fruits in this position is on fruits that need extra acid.

Choosing pears and dealing with grit

The preserves call for hard, ripe pears [2], and the recipe cooks them twice, so firm fruit matters. For the jam, the pears are chopped fine and crushed [1], so softer ripe fruit is fine.

Some pear varieties have a gritty texture, and none of the sources reviewed for this page addresses grit in pear jam or offers a tested fix. Choose varieties that are smooth when you eat them fresh. Do not change the recipe's proportions to work around it.

Processing pear jam and preserves

For any process under 10 minutes NCHFP says to pre-sterilize jars [9]. Unsterilized jars need the longer chart on how long to process jam.

Selling pear jam

Pear is a federal Group II fruit, so pear jam or preserves sold under the standard name need at least 45 parts fruit to 55 parts sugar [10]. Apple is not named in either jam group, which affects how the pear-apple blend is figured; see how much fruit the law requires. Pear is named in the federal fruit butter standard [11], and pear butter is covered on apple butter and other fruit butters.

Pear's partner fruit

The pear-apple jam borrows body from apples. To see why apples set so readily, and how to make apple jelly with no added pectin, read apple jelly.

References

1. USDA, Complete Guide to Home Canning, Guide 7: Preparing and Canning Jams and Jellies (Pear-Apple Jam; remaking soft jellies), rev. 2015. https://nchfp.uga.edu/papers/guide/GUIDE07_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf
2. National Center for Home Food Preservation, Pear Preserves, adapted from So Easy to Preserve, 6th ed. (2014). https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/make-jam-jelly/preserves/pear-preserves/
3. National Center for Home Food Preservation, Jellied Product Ingredients, accessed October 2026. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/make-jam-jelly/jams-jellies-general-information/jellied-product-ingredients/
4. University of Wisconsin Extension, Ingham, Making Jams, Jellies & Fruit Preserves (B2909), undated. https://iowa.extension.wisc.edu/files/2021/08/Making-Jams-Jellies-Fruit-Preserves-B2909.pdf
5. National Center for Home Food Preservation, General Information on Canning Jams, Jellies, and Marmalades, accessed October 2026. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/make-jam-jelly/jams-jellies-general-information/general-information-on-canning-jams-jellies-and-marmalades/
6. UC Master Food Preservers of Sacramento County, Apples, Pears and Persimmons (demonstration handout), October 16, 2024. https://ucanr.edu/sites/sacmfp/files/403327.pdf
7. Oregon State University Extension, Oehler and Hibbard-Swanson, Preserving Asian Pears (SP 50-694), rev. December 2025. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/preserving-asian-pears-sp-50-694
8. University of Wisconsin Extension, Canning Fruits Safely (B0430), rev. June 2020. https://iowa.extension.wisc.edu/files/2021/08/Canning-Fruits-Safely-B0430.pdf
9. National Center for Home Food Preservation, Do I Need to Pre-Sterilize My Jars before Canning?, May 21, 2014. https://nchfp.uga.edu/blog/do-i-need-to-pre-sterilize-my-jars-before-canning
10. U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 150.160, Canned fruit preserves and jams (Cornell LII text, current). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/150.160
11. U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 150.110, Fruit butter (Cornell LII text, current). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/150.110