Spiced pear jam
- Prep: 10m
- Cook: 1hr
- Serves: 3
This jam is like Christmas in a jar. It’s also a very forgiving recipe so don’t fret if you’ve never made jam before. The jam has quite a soft set so slather it on toast on Christmas morning or spoon it over vanilla ice-cream for a quick wintery pud.
Method
- Put the pears in a large metal saucepan and add cold water until they are just covered (around 700ml). Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are very soft.
- Add the jam sugar and the spices then continue to simmer gently until the sugar has dissolved, around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The pears should be broken down by now, but give them a mash to help them along if needed.
- Once you have a mushy, sugary soup, turn the heat up and boil until the mixture reaches 104°C, which is the jam sugar’s setting point. It will take around 10 minutes. Stir the jam regularly to prevent it catching on the bottom, but take care because it will erupt like a volcano and splutter.
- Sterilize your jars and lids by washing them in hot water then putting them in the oven, pre-heated to 140°C / 120°C fan / gas mark 1 for 15 minutes.
- Spoon the hot jam into the hot jars and seal the lids. The jam will keep for several months in a cupboard and a month or two in the fridge once opened.
Ingredients
All to be sourced organic where possible
- Makes approximately 3 x 1lb jars
- 1.2kg pears, peeled, cored and chopped (weight refers to usable pear flesh after peeling and coring)
- 700g caster sugar with sachet of pectin added as per instructions on packet
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 10 cloves
- 1 star anise
