Homemade Pear Jam Recipe

This homemade pear jam is made with 4 cups of diced ripe pears, 2 cups of sugar, fresh lemon juice and a little cinnamon, with no pectin from a box. Plan on 20 minutes of prep, a 20 to 30 minute rest, and 25 to 35 minutes at a simmer. It fills 2 to 3 half-pint jars.

Pears are low in natural pectin, so the jam sets because the sugar and lemon cook down with the fruit until the syrup gels. The cold plate test tells you when that has happened, and it is the step that decides whether you get soft jam or pear syrup.

Ratio, Yield and Shelf Life

• Ratio: 2 parts diced pears to 1 part sugar by volume, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Yield: 2 to 3 half-pint (8 ounce) jars
• Set test: a spoonful on a frozen plate wrinkles when pushed
• Fridge: up to 3 weeks
• Canned: 10 minutes in a boiling water bath, then up to 1 year in a cool, dark cupboard

Jam, Preserves or Pear Butter?

People search for pear preserves and pear jam as if they were the same thing, and they are close. Jam, like this one, has small soft pieces of fruit in a set syrup and spreads easily. Preserves keep larger chunks or slices. Pear butter is cooked much longer until it is smooth, thick and has no visible pieces.

For preserves, cut the pears into ½ inch chunks and skip the mashing and the blender. For something smooth enough for a spoon in your oatmeal, make pear butter instead.

Which Pears to Use

Use Bartlett or Anjou pears that are ripe but still firm at the neck. They smell sweet and give a little when you press near the stem. Very soft, overripe pears taste good raw but turn grainy and mushy in the pot. Under-ripe pears hold their shape and give a firmer, less fragrant jam.

Peel and core them, then dice into small, even pieces, about ¼ inch. Even pieces cook at the same speed, so you do not end up with mush around hard cubes. You need about 4 to 5 medium pears for 4 cups.

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Making Pear Jam: Rest, Boil, Simmer

Mash a little of the diced fruit with a fork for a softer texture, then put all the pears, sugar, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon and salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pot and stir.

Leave it for 20 to 30 minutes. The sugar pulls juice out of the pears, and by the time you turn on the heat most of it has dissolved in that juice. Sugar that is still dry when the pot heats up is what sticks and scorches.

Set the pot over medium heat and stir often until it reaches a steady boil. Turn it down to medium-low and simmer for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring often and scraping the corners. The pears go translucent, the bubbles get smaller and slower, and the syrup darkens from pale gold to amber.

Put a small plate in the freezer when you start, because you will need it near the end.

The Cold Plate Test

At around 25 minutes, take the pot off the heat, spoon a little jam onto the frozen plate and put it back in the freezer for 1 minute. Push the edge with your finger. If the surface wrinkles and the jam holds a line, it is set. If it runs back together, simmer 3 to 5 minutes more and test again. On the spoon, set jam coats the back and drips slowly in thick drops.

If you have a thermometer, the set point is about 220°F at sea level. The plate is still worth doing, since it shows you the texture you will get in the jar.

Smooth or Chunky

For a smoother spread, pulse an immersion blender in the pot two or three times and stop while small pieces remain. Leave it unblended for a chunkier, preserve-style jar.

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When Pear Jam Goes Wrong

• Runny after cooling: it did not reach the set point. Pour it back into the pot, simmer 5 minutes, and test on a cold plate again.
• Thick and sticky like candy: it cooked past the set point. Stir in a few tablespoons of hot water while warm.
• Burnt taste: sugar scorched on the bottom. Pour the jam into a clean pot without scraping the base; the burnt layer flavors everything it touches.
• Very dark brown: the heat was too high or the batch too big. Keep it at a gentle simmer, and make two batches instead of doubling one, because a deeper pot takes longer to set and darkens the fruit.

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Jarring, Canning and Storing

Ladle the hot jam into clean jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace, wipe the rims and close the lids. For the fridge, let the jars cool completely and refrigerate; the jam keeps up to 3 weeks. For the cupboard, process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (add time if you live above 1,000 feet). Once cool, a sealed lid does not flex when you press the middle. Sealed jars keep up to 1 year in a cool, dark place; refrigerate after opening.

What to Eat It With

Pear jam is mellow and a little floral, with less sharpness than berry or plum jam, so it suits mild, buttery things. Spread it on sour cream biscuits or sour cream scones, toast slices of sweet condensed milk bread, or fill jam thumbprint cookies with it. It also sits well next to soft cheese on a board and stirred into plain yogurt.

If your pears ripen all at once, this jam and pear cake use them up between them. For more fall jars, try fig preserves or caramel apple jam. Leave a comment and tell me what you spread yours on first.