*Pear, Vanilla and Cardamom Jam*
Makes 3 1/2 pints A delicious jam with lovely flavours.
8 cups of coarsely chopped pears, peeled the juice of one lemon 2 vanilla beans 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 4 cups granulated sugar (380g) 1 packet of pectin Combine the pears, sugar and lemon juice in a large pot with a heavy bottom. Split the vanilla pods, scraping any seeds into the pears, and add the split pods to the pears along with the sugar. Cook over medium heat until the pears are very soft and can be mashed with the back of a spoon. Stir in the cardamom. At this point you can remove the pods if you wish. Add the pectin and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. That is a boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for a full five minutes. Have your jars ready. They should have been sterilized with boiling water or in the very hot cycle of the dish washer. Sterilize the lids in a pan of boiling water. Keep warm. Fill your jars with the jam and then wipe the rims clean of any residual jam with a clean cloth. Apply the hot lids and then screw on the rims. Process the filled jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and place on towel lined baking tray. Let cool, undisturbed, for about two hours. The lids should seal during this time. Th lids will pop down. You should hear them doing this. Check to ensure the jars have sealed by pushing down on the centre of the lids. If there is no give the jars have sealed. Store in a dry cool dark place. |