Earlier this fall, I found myself in possession of a lot of pears. I frozen some. I made a big batch of pear butter. And I made this jam, which I never managed to tell you about. Part of the reason it’s taken me so long is that I had some inner conflict going on about it. You see, I initially developed it for a demo event at which I called it Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pear Jam.
Now, I’m not someone who goes crazy for pumpkin pie spice in the fall (I’ve never even had a pumpkin spice latte, but that’s mostly because I don’t really dig sweetened coffee). But I’m not a hater either. In fact, when it comes to canning and baking, having a little jar of pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice is one of my favorite short cuts (I’ll often put a dash in my oatmeal as it cooks).
However, with Hanukkah upon us and Christmas hurtling ever closer, I came the realization that I’ve not posted a single new thing that you could make and share with your friends, neighbors, teachers, and family members. And in all the years that I’ve written this blog, not one has gone by where I didn’t serve up at least one holiday-centric preserve. So I’m getting over my hesitations and offering up this one.
Just to clarify, my reluctance wasn’t about the flavor (it was really whether to wade into the pumpkin spice pool). I gave a jar to a neighbor, who told me that it was the best jam she’d ever had. Everyone at the demo raved about it as well. It’s good. It’s easy. It’s quick. And if you can’t bring yourself to use the pumpkin pie spice, use a few dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove (just go light on the clove!).
Spiced Pear Jam
Ingredients
- 4 pounds pears cored and chopped (no need to peel thin skinned pears like Bartlett or Bosc)
- 4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons pectin powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Prepare a canning pot and 8 half pint jars.
- In a low, wide non-reactive pot, combine chopped pears, sugar, pectin, and pumpkin pie spice over high heat. Bring the fruit to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-high
- Cook at a low boil for 20 to 25 minutes, until the fruit can easily be smashed with the back of a spoon. If you want a smoother jam, use a potato masher or immersion blender to break the fruit down once the cooking process it finished.
- Funnel finished jam into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims to remove any residual jam, apply the lids and rings, and process jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes (start the timer when the pot has returned to a boil).
- When the time has elapsed, remove jars from pot and place the jars on a towel-lined countertop. Let them cool undisturbed for at least two hours. During this time, the lids should seal.
- Once jars have cooled enough handle, check to ensure the jars have sealed by pushing down on the center of the lid. If it feels solid and doesn’t move, it is sealed. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
- Sealed jars will keep for up to a year if stored in a cool, dark place.
I noticed no lemon juice in this one. Did you have any discoloration issues? Can’t tell if the color is from the spice or the pears.
I never really worry about discoloration. I just assume that it’s going to be the color it wants to be. That said, I did get the sugar on the pears pretty quickly once they were chopped, so there wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity to discolor. And adding lemon juice is certainly fine if one felt like the flavor needed some balance help.
Pumpkin pie spice is my go-to for all fall into winter jams. It really works and heralds the season.
Hadn’t used with pears alone but will now, had done a pear cranberry with it —so good!
I was at that demo and this jam is truly wonderful.
I made a batch for Christmas gifts and everyone has loved it.
Do I need to add the pectin if I’m cooking if for so long? I noticed on your pear cinnamon jam you didn’t add any pectin, could I just replace the cinnamon with pumpkin spice?
Please explain the use of pectin WITH long cooking time. I thought long cooking was bad for pectin. Learning more every day.
I don’t see this recipe as having an excessively long cooking time. Typically when people talk about long cooking times, they’re counting time in multiple hours. Pears are a relatively low pectin fruit and so to create a set, you need to cook them down a little and you need some pectin. That’s what I’ve done here.
What happens to the skin if you don’t peel the pears first? I would think you would have the skin floating around in the jam mixture. I am not sure I would want that. Hint: drop pears in boiling water no longer then 15 seconds then drop into ice water. The skin comes of very easily in your hands and running over some cold water to clean up.
The pear skin really melts into the finished jam. I’ve made 50+ batches of jam using unpeeled pears over the years and have never had issue with the skin.
Is it ok to substitute half of the white sugar with brown sugar?
Sure. It will alter the finished color, but there’s no safety issue.
I followed this recipe exactly but the jam didn’t jam. It is great as topping on ice cream or on pan cakes, but to liquid for toast or to be considered as jam.. I have not made jam or canned in years but do have knowledge in canning. Thinking about it, it seemed to have too much juice when it cam to putting it in the jars.
Guess I should have cooked it down more. But the recipe said 20 to 25 minutes. Suggestions?
There are so many factors that play into the set of jam, including the moisture content of the fruit, the width of the pan you use, how hot your stove is, and even how humid it is the day you make it. So cooking times are just a suggestion. You should always use other set tests. This post might help. https://foodinjars.com/blog/check-set-plate-test/
This really was delicious. I didn’t have enough jars so made the leftover into a pear crumble and I ate the entire thing over 2 days. I could eat the jam straight out of the jar and I don’t even normally like jam. 😄
I’m so glad that you like it!