Gingery Pear Jam Food

PEAR & GINGER JAM

Steps:

• Peel and chop the pears and apples into small chunks. Place a couple of tea plates in the freezer for later.
• Place half the pears and all of the apples into a preserving pan, with just enough water to cover the fruit, and simmer gently until soft and mushy (about 40 mins)
• Remove from the heat, add the sugar, pectin, ginger, lemon juice and zest, also add the rest of the chopped pears. Put the pan back on the heat and dissolve sugar gently.
• Once the sugar is dissolved, bring to the boil, and boil rapidly for about 15 minutes, or until setting point has been reached. If you are getting a scum on top, put a nob of butter in at this stage.
• To check if the jam has set, put a small amount on the cold tea plate, then push gently with the spoon, the jam should wrinkle.
• Pour into sterilised jars.

GINGERY PEAR JAM

Steps:

• Prepare 1/2 pint jars, lids, and water bath canner. Place a small plate in the freezer to chill.
• After chopping, puree roughly half the pears in a food processor until smooth. Alternatively, you may grate all the pears. Or you may use an immersion blender in the pot when half cooked. The goal is to have a jam with a smooth pulpy texture, punctuated by small chunks of fruit. Without the smooth, pulpy pears, the taste is more like pears in ginger sauce.
• Add all ingredients to a 5-6 quart dutch oven. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until thickened, stirring occaisionally. (20-30 minutes, depending on how juicy the fruit is).
• Test thickness of jam by putting a small spoonful on a chilled plate, and tilting. If the jam remains mounded and doesn't drip, it's done.
• Fill jars, leaving a 1/4" headspace, cap, and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

PEAR JAM

Steps:

• Mix pears, fruit pectin, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and lemon juice in a large heavy pot; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar all at once, stirring, and bring back to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute. Mix in butter to settle foam.
• Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Pack the pear jam into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars into the boiling water using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary to bring the water level to at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a rolling boil, cover the pot, and process for 10 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press the top of each lid with a finger, ensuring that the seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Store in a cool, dark area.

PEAR JAM

Steps:

• Place 5-1/2 to 6 cups chopped pears and the lemon juice in a heavy pot.
• Mash pears with a potato masher to desired chunkiness. If you like it fine you can coarsely grind it. But a food processor will make it too pureed for this recipe.
• Stir-in the powdered pectin, spices and ginger.
• Bring to a boil and boil hard for one minute.
• Add the sugar.
• Bring back to a boil and boil hard for 4-minutes stirring frequently.
• Ladle into sterile jars, seal and process for 10 minutes.
• Yield 7 half pints.

GINGER PEAR FREEZER JAM

Steps:

• Rinse seven 1-cup plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly. In a Dutch oven, combine pears, pectin, lemon juice, lemon zest and ginger. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vanilla., Remove from heat; skim off foam. Immediately fill all containers to within 1/2 in. of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours., Jam is now ready to use. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 12 months. Thaw frozen jam in refrigerator before serving.

GINGER PEAR JAM

Steps:

• Grate pears coarsely. Combine grated pears with sugar, lemon juice, and ginger in large SS pot.
• Bring pear mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 30-45 minutes, or until thickened.
• Stir pectin into 3/4 cup of jam liquid, if desired, and add to jam.
• Cook 3 minutes more.
• Meanwhile prepare jars, lids, canner.
• Fill jars to 1/4-inch headspace, cap, and process 10 minutes.

PEAR GINGER JAM

Steps:

• In a large pot, combine the pears, fresh ginger, sugar and juice from one lemon.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat them reduce the heat to medium. As you cook the jam for 10-15 minutes, it will thicken.
• Use a potato masher to help break down the fruit if necessary. If you want to make more of a sauce similar to an applesauce, you could puree the jam before canning it.
• When the jam is the consistency you prefer, ladle it into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
• Process the jars for 10 minutes in a water bath canner (adjust for your altitude as needed). Or you could store the jam in the refrigerator for about a month.