Pears are used to make many winter pastries; jam is popular. When properly prepared, they are used as a separate dish and as a filling for pies and pancakes. There are many recipes for making seaming; every housewife has several in her arsenal, which will differ in taste, but will be identical in thickness.
Specifics of preparing jam
Preparing the dish is not difficult, for a decent result the main thing is:
- choose the right ingredients;
- carry out high-quality preparatory work;
- thoroughly grind the ingredients;
- It is enough to boil the jam.
The amount of sugar will be important; the result should not be cloying, but quite sweet.
Advice! Light sourness and some spices will give the finished dish a touch of piquancy.
In addition to the main ingredient, fruits and berries are added, which add thickness to the finished dish and change the taste. Most often, apples, lingonberries, and lemon are used as additives. Raspberry puree is less often added to the already half-finished brew.
Among the spices, vanilla is used to improve the taste, bergamot extract, orange or lemon zest will add their own nuances.
The main ingredient is used not only from the garden; cultivated varieties have their own taste, but from wild ones it will differ radically.
Preparation of the main ingredient
For cooking, it’s not enough to just select pears; they need to be prepared. Before preparing the main ingredient, the following processing is carried out:
- the fruits are thoroughly washed and dried;
- Only ripe pears are selected, without rot;
- all fruits are removed from the skin, the core is also removed;
- Peeled pears are finely chopped.
Further, the process may be different, some housewives pass the prepared pears through a meat grinder, while some like to lightly boil the pieces and then puree them with a blender. Both of these grinding methods are correct; it cannot be said that one of them is not suitable.
Methods for making pear jam at home
A sweet dish for the winter is prepared in different ways; each housewife has her own favorite recipe, which she has been using for many years.For the younger generation, several standard versions of this delicacy are offered, which have been tested by more than one generation.
A simple recipe for the winter
The best way to preserve pears for the winter is to make jam from them. This type of seaming was familiar to our grandmothers; at that time, these fruits were either dried or boiled with sugar. The simplicity of the recipe lies in the minimal application of physical force. Pre-prepared pears are finely chopped, covered with granulated sugar and left for 8-10 hours to release the juice. Next, put on fire and bring to a boil. Boil for a short time, no more than 7 minutes.
Such welding is done several times, so the result will be thick and with whole pieces of fruit.
To achieve the correct consistency, take no more than 700 g of sugar for each kilogram of chopped fruit. It’s better not to add water at all, but if the fruits are a bit dry, you can add about 150 g.
Pear jam through a meat grinder: step-by-step recipe
In order to prepare a thicker and more uniform dish, peeled pears are crushed. To do this, use a mechanical meat grinder or an electrical appliance with a fine mesh. Step by step it's like this:
- The prepared fruits are cut randomly into not very large pieces.
- The pears are passed through a meat grinder; if there is no fine grate, then the procedure is repeated.
- The mass is transferred to a large container, covered with sugar, and water is added.
- Mix all ingredients well until smooth, let stand until sugar completely melts.
- After that, place the container on the fire and bring to a boil.
- Periodically remove the foam and stir, avoiding burning.
- Boil the jam over low heat for about 40 minutes; for a thicker state, increase the cooking time.
- The finished delicacy is placed in jars and rolled up.
To grind pears into puree, it is not necessary to use a meat grinder; you can use a food processor or blender.
In a slow cooker
You can prepare food for the winter using modern equipment. Cooking in a slow cooker is quite simple. The process will require two weldings, the latter will help achieve the desired thickness.
One and a half kilos of ripe pears are washed, peeled, cut, placed in the bowl of the device, and covered with sugar. Set the heating mode and wait for the sugar to dissolve.
Next, water is added and the multicooker is switched to stewing mode. Cook for 30-40 minutes with the lid closed, then the softened pears are crushed with a blender or rubbed through a sieve.
The final stage will be boiling the resulting mass in the stew mode for 20-30 minutes. Then the puree is laid out in prepared jars.
With apples
To cook jam according to this recipe, you will need to take equal parts of apples and pears. For every kilogram of fruit, take half a kilo of sugar. If desired, add vanilla or a couple of drops of bergamot extract.
With lingonberries
It is necessary to cook jam with lingonberries from sweet varieties of pears. Only 300 g of ripe berries are added per kilo of fruit, and about 700 g of sugar is needed. The prepared ingredients are placed in a container. Add sugar and boil for 15 minutes, stirring and skimming off the foam.
With lemon
A thick and tasty jam is made from pears with the addition of lemon. The pears are pre-prepared as for the recipe through a meat grinder, only boiling is carried out with the addition of grated lemon zest and chopped citrus pulp.For a kilogram of pears you will need no more than a couple of medium-sized lemons, take 200 g more sugar, but you don’t need to add water at all.
In the oven
Ready-made pear jam, cooked in pieces, can be dried in the oven. If you do this correctly, the result will be a semi-crumbly dish of amber ingredients. To do this, place a heat-resistant container with the finished treat in a preheated oven and leave it there for 30-40 minutes to dry. Then, while still hot, they are put into jars and sealed.
How to store this jam
Prepared pear jam can be stored under proper conditions for 2-3 years. Longer storage of the product is not recommended.
In order for the product to retain its characteristics in rolled up jars, it is placed in a cellar or basement, the temperature in which is kept at 2-8 degrees.
