Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I can’t think of a better way to sweeten your mom’s day than with this pear jam. It is slightly sweet, a little spicy and best of all – it is homemade. What mom wouldn’t love that?
Here’s what you need to make approximately three 70 ml jars…
Recipe
7 large, ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups sugar
10 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
Method
In a large glass bowl toss the pears with the sugar and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Transfer the pears and their liquid to a wide, heavy pot and bring to a boil. Put the crushed cardamom in a tea ball and add it to the pot. Cook the pears over a high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid starts to thicken and the pears become translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
Place a metal spoon in the freezer (you will use this to test if the jam is cooked to the correct thickness).
Transfer one-third of the pears to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the puree back to the pot. Boil over moderately high heat, stirring until the jam is very thick, about 5-10 minutes.
To test the jam, removed the chilled spoon from the freezer and drop a small amount of the pear jam on the back of the spoon and place back in the freezer for 30 seconds. Remove the spoon again and tilt the spoon. The jam should be thick and run down the spoon slowly. If it is too runny, continue cooking the jam for a few minutes more, then test again.
Remove the tea ball and stir in the honey.
Ladle the jam into your jars, allow to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 months.
Adapted from Food & Wine/Blue Chair Fruit
- 7 large, ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch pieces
- 2 cups sugar
- 10 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- In a large glass bowl toss the pears with the sugar and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Transfer the pears and their liquid to a wide, heavy pot and bring to a boil. Put the crushed cardamom in a tea ball and add it to the pot. Cook the pears over a high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid starts to thicken and the pears become translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Place a metal spoon in the freezer (you will use this to test if the jam is cooked to the correct thickness).
- Transfer one-third of the pears to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the puree back to the pot. Boil over moderately high heat, stirring until the jam is very thick, about 5-10 minutes.
- To test the jam, removed the chilled spoon from the freezer and drop a small amount of the pear jam on the back of the spoon and place back in the freezer for 30 seconds. Remove the spoon again and tilt the spoon. The jam should be thick and run down the spoon slowly. If it is too runny, continue cooking the jam for a few minutes more, then test again.
- Remove the tea ball and stir in the honey.
- Ladle the jam into your jars, allow to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 months.