To freeze, wash and peel pears. Cut in halves or quarters and core. Texture will be best if pears are frozen in sugar syrup. Mix 2 1/2 cups sugar in four cups of water. Bring syrup to boiling; heat pears in boiling syrup two minutes. Drain and cool pears; save hot syrup for another batch. Freeze pears in cold syrup (same proportions). To prevent darkening, add 1/2 teaspoon ascorbic acid or three 500 mg vitamin C tablets to four cups of water. Fill containers to one-inch of top; add syrup to one-half inch of top.
Put a piece of crushed freezer paper on top of pears; close containers. The lid will push down on the paper which will keep the pears under syrup.
CANNING PEARS
Bartlett and Clapp's Favorite varieties of pears are good for freezing. Choose ripe, mature fruit of ideal eating quality for eating fresh or cooking. Pears may be canned with water, apple or white grape juice, or more commonly, with a sugar syrup; sugar helps maintain texture. For very light syrup, add 1 1/4 cups sugar in 9 cups water; for medium syrup add 3 3/4 cups sugar to 8 1/4 cups water. These quantities make enough syrup for a canner load of seven quarts.
Wash and peel pears, and boil three minutes. Heating drives air out of the fruit, allowing a fuller pack, less discoloration and a better seal than is possible with a raw pack. Fill clean jars with hot pears to one-half inch of top; shake jar gently to nestle fruit pieces. Add cooking liquid to one-half inch of top. Remove air bubbles with a thin plastic scraper. Wipe jar tops with a damp paper towel; close jars with lids prepared according to manufacturer's directions.
