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Thursday, October 16, 2008

You will need, Jam, Jelly, Butter and Ketchup

No commentary today, just the facts ma'am.

Pear Butter

9 cups of pears, washed, peeled and chopped
6 cups of sugar
juice of a lemon or and juice of 1 orange and the peel
Cook pears over a medium heat with some water to prevent sticking, until soft. Run pears through a food mill. Return to cleaned pan, add sugar and juice. Cook over a low heat, uncovered, until think enough that it will hold up a wooden spoon.

Vanilla Pear Jelly
8 large pears, stemmed and blossom ends removed, then quartered with peel left on
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups cane sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) box powdered pectin

Wash fruit. Place in pot and pour water to barely cover pears. Boil uncovered for 35-45 minutes. Fruit should look translucent. Strain the juice through a double layer of cheesecloth or use a jelly bag. Do not Squeeze, or the juice will become cloudy.
Sterilize jars.
Heat 3-1/2 cups of the pear juice (don't have enough? you can add as much as 1/2 cup water), add the vanilla and pectin. Bring to a boil, add the sugar. Bring back to a boil, until the sugar is completely dissolved and you are at a hard boil (hard boil means you can not stir it down) about 10 - 20 minutes.
You should begin to see the mixture thicken on the back of a wooden spoon and form 2 side-by-side droplets at this point.. Turn the heat down and skim off the foam. Return to a boil for another five minutes. Using the "spoon test", the jelly should be thick enough to "sheet" in small waves on the back of your spoon.
Pour into sterilized jars and add lids. B-w bath for 5 minutes .Makes 6 to 7 (8 ounce) jars.

Spiced Pear Jam
8 cups peeled finely chopped ripe pears (about 5 1/2 lb.)
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more according to your taste)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place all the ingredients to a dutch oven.
Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for 2 hours or until thickened.
Sterilize jars
Skim off foam with a metal spoon.
Pour immediately into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Remove any air bubbles and wipe jar rims.
adjust lids
Process in a b-w bath for 10 minutes.
Makes 5 half pints

Pear Ketchup
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 Tbsp. finely minced cooking onion
½ tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
4-inch sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves only, very finely minced
2½ Tbsp. pear vinegar
1 tsp. raw sugar
1 large star anise
1 small bay leaf

In a small frying pan over medium heat, melt butter and saute the pears for 2 minutes. Add onion and continue sauteing for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until the pears have softened but not turned color.
Remove from the heat allow to cool. Place the cooled pears in a food processor with salt, pepper, rosemary, vinegar, and sugar, puree. Return the mixture to the frying pan, add the star anise and bay leaf. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of ketchup.
Remove the ketchup from heat and set aside to cool for 1 to 2 hours. Discard the bay leaf and star anise and taste--if the pears used were too sweet, you may want to add another ½ tablespoon of vinegar.
You can keep refrigerated for 6 weeks and frozen for 6 months. This recipe only makes 3/4 cup of ketchup.


I wonder what will happen tomorrow.

8 comments:

Amanda said...

wow...pear ketchup!

Janelle said...

I will need to see a picture of the ketchup, and maybe an few suggestions as to when it would be used :)

Phelan said...

I use mine on grilled blue cheese sandwichs, dip my french fries and just about anything you use tomato ketchup for. of course it is a taste thing.

Sorry, I don't have a camera right now, so I can't do photos.

Amanda, tomato ketchup isn't the only ketchup out there. You can use just about any fruit.

Granny said...

"Cook pears over a medium heat with some water to prevent sticking, "

I guess I don't understand. I put them in a pot with a little bit of water and cook them right? About how long is that? Will the juices cook out of them so they won't stick? I did tell you I was completely new to this right????!!!

Phelan said...

yep, just enough water on the bottom of the pot to keep the pears from sticking to it. The pears will release some of its juices, but you might get some bruning going on before that happens. Time depends on how big the pieces are. I leave mine on for a few hours, stirring it now and then.

Don't worry, always ask. You want to get things right your first go round.

Granny said...

How do I know they are "done"?

Granny said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phelan said...

Done? As in soft enough to put through a food mill? They will be a little rubbery feeling, but if you apply pressure with a potato masher, they will squish down easily.

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