Rum Spiced Pear Jam

Rum Spiced Pear Jam

Yields 6

Ingredients

• 4 lbs ripe Bartlett pears (should yield 8 cups), peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 10 green cardamom seed pods, slightly crushed to release/expose seeds and wrapped in a piece of muslin or in a tea infuser.
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tablespoons spiced rum (I'm sure any rum would be fine, but the spiced does have a nice flavor, but feel free to experiment)

Instructions

• Prepare canner, jars and lids. See The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving for guidance.
• Place a saucer in your freezer
• Place pears, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods in a large stainless steel saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
• Boil, stirring frequently until mixture thickens which should take about 15 minutes
• Remove from heat and gel test by placing a small amount of the jam on the plate. Put plate back in freezer for 1 minutes. If when you push it with your finger it wrinkles a bit it is done.
• If gel state has been reached, skim off any foam and stir in rum.
• Spoon your jam into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
• Remove air bubbles and wipe rim.
• Center lid on jar
• Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight.
• Place jars in canner, making sure they are completely covered with water
• Cover pot and bring to a boil
• Boil for 10 minutes
• Turn heat off, remove lid and let sit for 5 minutes
• Carefully remove jars with jar lifter and place on a rack where they can be undisturbed for 24 hours.
• Refrigerate any jars if their lids don't pop down.

Notes This recipe assumes some knowledge of proper and safe canning techniques. Please see the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving for guidance.

Pics and printable recipe available at: Nourish and Nestle

bon appetit