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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Pear Maple Jam

Here's a quick and easy jam recipe for a holiday brunch.   There is just enough maple to enhance the pear, but not overpower it.  

Pear Maple Jam 
  • 6 cups cooked pears  [6 fresh pears]
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 3 Tablespoons Ball Low Sugar Pectin
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup

Cook the pears, if you haven't already.   Yes, you need to peel and core them.  

Add the lemon juice and pectin to the cooked pears, stirring constantly if the pears are still hot.   You don't want pectin clumps! 

Heat to a hard boil.    A really, really hard boil.   It matters.   It should be a raging boil even when you're stirring energetically.  

Keep it at a hard boil for 1 minute.

Add sugar and maple syrup.    Return to a really, really hard boil.   Boil hard for 1 minute.  

That's it!  Ladle into jars and process for canning.

Troubleshooting:
If you can't get fresh pears, use canned ones.  [I'd use 3 small cans or 2 larger ones.  Don't worry about being exact.  It'll be close enough.  Really.]  Try to find some without sugar.

If you have canned pears in syrup [even light syrup], then DON'T add the pectin to the pears. 

In a small saucepan, dissolve the pectin in 1 1/2 cups of water.   Boil it hard for 1 minute!  [It won't take long.]

Put the pears and syrup in a large pot and mash them some. Then add the pectin goo to the pears.

Add the sugar MINUS 1/2 cup or so [minus 1 cup if they were in heavy syrup] - there's already some sugar in the canned pear syrup, so you don't need to add as much now.

Boil it all hard for 1 minute.    Ladle into jars and process for canning.