How to Freeze Pears: Two Methods for Freezing Pears

Freezing pears at peak ripeness allows you to continue enjoying them even in the off-season. Pears can be frozen using two different methods, one of which involves freezing your pears in sugar syrup. The syrup slightly sweetens the pears for a delicious treat all year round.

1. 1. Prep your pears. Begin by first rinsing the fresh pears in cold water. Continue prepping your pears for freezing by peeling, coring, halving, and slicing them into quarters. To prevent discoloration, soak them for three minutes in a solution consisting of one quart of water and one of the following: three quarters of a teaspoon of ascorbic acid, three tablespoons of lemon juice, or one quarter of a tablespoon of citric acid. Finally, drain your sliced pear pieces.
2. 2. Make the sugar syrup. Depending on how sweet you want your pears, you can make a light syrup, medium syrup, or heavy syrup. For a light syrup, mix one and two thirds of a cup of sugar with four cups of water. For a medium syrup, mix two and two thirds cups of sugar with four cups of water. For a heavy syrup, mix four cups of sugar with four cups of water. Heat the sugar and water in a large saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Chill the syrup.
3. 3. Place the pears into freezer-safe containers. Cover every two cups of fruit with two thirds of a cup of cooled syrup. Leave a half-inch of headspace for pint containers and one inch of headspace for quart-sized containers. Place the containers of pears and syrup in your freezer and use them within eight to ten months.

Also known as flash-freezing, dry packing is a quicker way to freeze pears.

1. 1. Rinse your pears. Begin by rinsing the fresh pears in cool water.
2. 2. Prep your pears. Prep your pears by peeling, halving, coring, and slicing them into quarters.
3. 3. Prep a baking sheet. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.
4. 4. Freeze the pears. Place the sliced pears on the sheet pan, and place the pan in the freezer. Freeze the pears overnight, then transfer the frozen pears to freezer-safe bags. Use your frozen pears within eight to ten months.

Consider a few extra tips for freezing and using pears.

1. 1. Choose firm, ripe pears. Freezing pears when they're at their peak ripeness will yield the best, most flavorful result. To speed up the ripening process, place pears in a paper bag. When pears are stored together in an enclosed container, the ethylene gas they produce is trapped, speeding up the ripening process. However, pears need to breathe, which is why a paper bag is preferable to a plastic bag or airtight container. Unripe pears stored together in a brown paper bag should start to soften within four days.
2. 2. Thaw frozen pears properly. Place your freezer-safe container or freezer bags in a bowl of cold water to defrost your pears.
3. 3. Try new pear varieties. Anjou, Bosc, and Bartlett pears are great, popular pear varieties. However, there are a lot of different kinds of pears that are equally delicious. There are about 3,000 estimated types of pears grown worldwide. Explore freezing new pear varieties.

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