Pear Chutney or Jam recipe?

[Mozkiwi]

I had planned on making a pear/celery bisque for Christmas, but was a little too ambitious with the traditional "12 plates" for a Polish Christmas Eve... so now I have 14 beautiful bartlett pears that are starting to ripen a little too much and was wondering if anyone had a pear chutney or jam recipe they've tried that I could preserve? I'd hate to throw the pears out... and I have so much food in the house right now - I'm scrambling for cook and freeze recipes! Thanks!

 

[mcnerd]

Here's one you might like to try:

Pear-Apple Jam

2 cups finely-chopped peeled cored pears, (abt 2 lbs)
1 cup finely-chopped peeled cored apples
6 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup bottled lemon juice
6 oz liquid pectin

1. Crush apples and pears in a large saucepan and stir in cinnamon. Thoroughly mix sugar and lemon juice with fruits and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard l minute, stirring constantly.

2. Remove from heat, quickly skim off foam, and fill hot, sterile jars leaving l/4-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

3. To sterilize empty jars, place them right side up on the rack in a boiling-water canner. Fill the canner and jars with hot (not boiling) water to 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Boil 10 minutes at altitudes of less than 1,000 feet. At higher elevations, boil 1 additional minute for each additional 1,000 feet elevation. Remove and drain hot sterilized jars one at a time as filled.

Yield: 7 to 8 half-pints

Recipe from Michigan State University Extension

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Pear Butter

7 lbs medium pears, quartered, cored
4 cups sugar
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup orange juice

1. Prepare Ball brand or Kerr brand jars and closures according to manufacturer's instructions.

2. Cook pears until soft, adding only enough water to prevent sticking (about 1/2 cup). Press through sieve or food mill. Measure 2 quarts pulp; combine with sugar in a large saucepot, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add remaining ingredients, cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.

3. Carefully ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic spatula. Wipe jar rim clean. Place lid on jar with sealing compound next to glass. Screw band down evenly and firmly just until a point of resistance is met -- fingertip tight.

4. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. At elevations higher than 1,000 feet, boil 2 additional minutes for each additional 1,000 feet elevation.

Yield: 4 pints

Source: Allistra Corporation's recipe archive at Homecanning.com -|- Your complete source for all home canning and home food preservation needs.

 

[taxlady]

I have a recipe for spiced pear-apple jam that uses less sugar and no pectin. Let me know if you want it.

Here's my recipe for peach chutney. It should work for pears.

Approximate 3 lbs of peaches
2.5 cups of wine or cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup chopped, dried dates
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tblsp dried, crushed chilis

Heat the sugar and the vinegar and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add all the other ingredients.
Bring it to a boil and simmer for about 1.5 hours, until very thick.
Stir occasionally.
Remove cinnamon stick.

Pour into jars and process as described by mcnerd above.
I used to process in a pressure canner for 8 minutes at 5 lbs pressure. I had better luck with all lids being firmly attached on the first try in the pressure canner.