Fresh Homemade Pear Sauce

My parents have an apple tree on their property and each year they spend hours and hours peeling and cooking down apples to make applesauce and apple pie filling. I always said it's too much work just for applesauce - even though the taste and texture is superior to the store bought version.

If you happened to read my post for Homemade Raspberry Sherbet you know that I have a very nice 91 year old neighbor that lets me pick all of her organic raspberries. She also has an organic Starkrimson (red) pear tree that she allows me pick from!! The tree itself isn't that big but there are thousands (okay, maybe thousands is exaggerating but there are a lot!) of pears on it. I decided the best way to use these relatively small pears was to make pear sauce. My entire family loves pear sauce so I made 10 quarts of it! The process is VERY easy as there is no peeling like with applesauce! YAY!

Here's the super simple process:
If you have a pear tree this is a no-brainer. Pick pears and wash them thoroughly. If you do not have a pear tree you might want to ask around to see if someone in your neighborhood does. Chances are they would love to give you several dozen pears to keep them from falling off the tree and rotting on the ground.

If you are making pear sauce with store bought pears it might be kind of expensive. Especially if you are seeking out an organic variety. Luckily my neighbors tree is convenient and organic! 50 small pears will make approximately 3 quarts of pear sauce with some left over to eat immediately!!

The greatest part of pear sauce is that there is no need to peel the pears. The skins are soft enough to leave on. Cut the cores and any bad spots out of the pears and place remaining (good) cut pieces in a large stock pot.

Place pot on a stove top burner on medium-high and add 2-3 cups of water (depending on desired finished consistency). I used three cups.

Let water come to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Let simmer for 1-2 hours until pears are soft and skins are starting to peal away from the fruit. Your house will smell amazing! Remove from the burner.

Using an immersion blender blend the pears until all the skins are flecks. Don't over blend or you will end up with baby food (although this would make great baby food or a baby gift). You are just trying to break up all the large pieces of pear.

Pour into canning jars and freeze - this is the easiest method. Or can according to proper canning procedures! If you choose to can the pear sauce please follow a reputable source such as http://nchfp.uga.edu/ to can your fruit.

Eat and enjoy! It's even great warm! My absolute favorite way to eat fresh pear sauce is to serve it over the top of warm homemade pancakes in place of the syrup. It's a must try!