Notes: I read recently about organizations such as Not Far From the Tree which harvests fruit from urban trees that would otherwise go to waste. My coworker happens to have a pear tree growing on his property that is producing a lot of fruit, and he picked me a small box. The russet-coloured pears are quite small as you can see in the photo, and appear bruised. When I peeled their thick skins, the pears were beautifully firm and unblemished. Using four cups of chopped fruit, 1 cup of pear juice, 2 tbsp of orange juice, one-third cup of sugar and half a vanilla bean (split but not scraped), I made a beautiful jam that preserved the flavour of these delicious pears. While getting the mixture to a boil, I used a potato masher to release more of the juice and to get the pieces smaller. It set quite nicely and kept its colour. A wonderful jam.
Leave a comment