first canning adventure: brandied pears

I’ve been wanting to get into canning for a while. It was finally time to take the plunge. I made brandied pears. One of the really striking things is how simple the ingredients list is:

• pears
• lemon juice
• sugar
• water
• brandy

Here’s the setup just before I started:


Allison got me a pressure canner/cooker for Christmas:


It’s huge! After I cooked the pears I packed them


and mixed the brandy into the syrup


and eventually got them into the cans, sealed and processed:


They are delicious! I think I’m going to try something next that requires the pressure canner’s features, so I’ve got a few things on my list:

• chili
• mango chutney
• dill pickles