• 1/2 cup sugar or Splenda
• three lemons or limes, juiced
• water
• one five gallon bucket of pears

Equipment: one large open bowl or tub, tall pitcher, 6 one quart freezer containers or freezer quart bags, one zester or grater, peeler, paring knife, water, towel. A melon baller is good if you have it.

Pick ripe pears. Enlist husband to reach the pears overhead. Watch out for the falling pears. Pick one five gallon bucket worth.

Wash pears and separate the soft ones. Eat the soft ones. Prepare one large pitcher half full of water and the juice of two lemons. Save rinds for making zest. Find large bowl, peeler, paring knife and towel for lap. Peel pears while you watch one movie. Cut the peeled pear in half. Scoop out the middle seed area and discard. Quarter the pears and drop into the lemon water immediately. When you have a pitcherful of pears, stop.

You put pears into ziplocks or freezer safe plastic. Use a slotted spoon or your hand to remove the pear pieces. Place enough pears to fill the container 3/4 full. If you put the ziplock in a quart size dish it won't fall over and spill.

Make a light syrup of either one half cup sugar to 4 cups water or one quarter or half cup of Splenda in 4 cups of water. Grate the lemon to make a teaspoon of zest. Lime peel is pretty too. Don't use the pith, or white part. Stir into liquid. Add the juice of one lemon. (You can add other flavor but it will intensify a lot in the freezer.)

Pour the liquid into the containers to cover the pears. Leave some room at the top. Close the containers, burp the ziplocks by rolling the top over gently as you close it. Full bags will burst so leave some space in the plastic.

Freeze the bags or containers in your freezer. Place them on a cookie sheet or other holder just in case the bags leak. I like to check the freezer bags one hour later and turn them over. This prevents freezer burn.