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Preserving With Pomona’s Pectin
The
combination of pear and cranberry is a delightful one for fall. The addition of
ginger really makes the flavors sing, and the almonds provide a chewy crunch.
For the best texture, use pears that are still quite firm so that the pear
pieces remain intact when cooked. While unsweetened dried fruit is generally
preferable in conserves, it’s very difficult to find unsweetened dried
cranberries, so feel free to use the sweetened version if that’s what you have
available.
Before You Begin:
Prepare
calcium water. To do this, combine 1/2
teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with 1/2 cup water in a
small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.
Extra calcium water may be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
Yield: 4 to 5
half-pint (8-ounce, or 236 ml) jars
Ingredients
2 pounds (910 g) ripe, firm pears
1/2 cup (75 g) dried cranberries
2 tablespoons (28 g) finely chopped crystallized
ginger
1/2 cup (63 g) sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) water
1/2 cup (120 ml) lemon juice
4 teaspoons (20 ml) calcium water
1 cup (200 g) sugar
3 teaspoons (9 g) Pomona’s pectin powder
Directions
1. Wash your
jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water,
bring canner to a rolling boil, and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize them.
(Add 1 extra minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
Reduce heat and allow jars to remain in hot canner water until ready to use.
Place lids in water in a small sauce pan, heat to a low simmer, and hold until
ready to use.
2. Peel, core,
and dice pears.
3. Combine
diced pears in a saucepan with dried cranberries, crystallized ginger, sliced
almonds, and the 11/2 cups (355 ml) water. Bring to a boil over high heat,
reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until fruit is soft,
stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Mix well.
4. Measure 4
cups (946 ml) of the cooked mixture (saving any extra for another use), and
return the measured quantity to the saucepan. Add lemon juice and calcium
water, and mix well.
5. In a
separate bowl, combine sugar and pectin powder. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
6. Bring pear
mixture back to a full boil over high heat. Slowly add the pectin-sugar
mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to
dissolve pectin while the conserve comes back up to a boil. Once the conserve
returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
7. Can Your Conserve: Remove jars
from canner and ladle jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove
trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, put on lids and screw bands,
and tighten to fingertip tight. Lower filled jars into canner, ensuring jars
are not touching each other and are covered with at least 1 to 2 inches of
water. Place lid on canner, return to a rolling boil, and process for 10
minutes. (Add 1 extra minute of processing time for every 1000 feet above sea
level). Turn off heat and allow canner to sit untouched for 5 minutes, then
remove jars and allow to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Confirm that jars
have sealed, then store properly.
Crystallize
It!
This
recipe calls for crystallized ginger–essentially, slices of fresh ginger root that
have been cooked and preserved with sugar. Crystallized ginger is easy and
quick to chop, so it’s very convenient in recipes. It’s available at Asian
markets and at many natural food stores.
