Pear and Lemon Jam Recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Jam Jelly and Preserves | 152 comments
A pear hanging on our pear tree
I spent ages trying to find a recipe for pear jam without success. One day moseying in the recipe section of Waitrose, I spotted a copy of the best selling Italian cook book The Silver Spoon
I made an excellent jam, not too sweet. A lemony taste with tiny explosions of pear. Everyone that tasted it wanted the recipe. It’s our favourite jam, good for breakfast or with a mild soft cheese.
The problem was that I hadn’t written the recipe down and wasn’t sure of the volume of water. When I returned to Waitrose “The Silver Spoon” was no longer on the shelves. Finding the book became a real mission. I saw it advertised on hoardings in the London tube but never found it in a shop. One happy day, I saw “The Silver Spoon”, twinkling from the supermarket shelves. I snapped it up and rushed home.
I was astonished to find that water was not an ingredient of the jam! I tried several versions, with different amounts of water, and this is by far the best.
| Pear and Lemon Jam Recipe |
- 2 kilos (4 and 1/2 pounds) of pears, peeled, cored and chopped
- 3 medium lemons (strained juice and zest)
- 1 kilo (5 and 1/4 cups) of granulated jam sugar
- 250ml water
Method
- Prepare the pears and place in a large covered bowl, to stop them browning.
- Remove the zest from the lemons carefully to avoid adding the bitter pith. Set zest aside.
- Squeeze the lemon juice and strain.
- Add the water, chopped pears, lemon zest and juice to a large heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Simmer very gently until the pears are just soft.
- Pour in the sugar and stir over a medium/low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
- Bring the heat up to a rolling boil (what is a rolling boil? See Tricks and tips below).
- Allow to boil hard for ten minutes before testing for a set.
- If it has not reached setting point (what is setting point? See Tricks and tips below) continue to boil rapidly, checking for a set every four minutes or so (set the timer for this).
- When the jam has set remove from the heat.
- Allow the jam to stand for a few minutes and pour into warmed sterilised jars (how do I sterilise jars? See Tricks and tips below).
- Cover with screw top lids or wax disks and cellophane tops.
- Label when cold.
- Store in a cool dry place.
Tricks and tips:
Jam set or ‘setting point’
Getting the right set can be tricky. I have tried using a jam thermometer but find it easier to use the following method.
Before you start to make the jam, put a couple of plates in the fridge so that the warm jam can be drizzled onto a cold plate (when we make jam we often forget to return the plate to the fridge between tests, using two plates means that you have a spare cold plate).
Return the plate to the fridge to cool for approx two minutes.
It has set when you run your finger through it and leave a crinkly track mark.
If after a few minutes the cooled jam is too liquid, continue to boil the jam, testing it every few minutes until you have the right set.
The jam is far more delicious if it is slightly runny.
There are other indicators the the jam is setting, the jam will start to coat the back of the spoon and the sides of the saucepan.
Sterilising the jars
We collect jars all year round for our jelly, chutney and jam making sessions. I try to soak off labels and store the clean jars and metal plastic coated lids in an accessible place.
The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the jam, I quickly wash and rinse the jars and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c (320F) 140c fan assisted).
When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The jars will stay warm for quite a while.
I only use plastic lined lids for preserves as the all-metal lids can go rusty. I boil these for five minutes in water to sterilise them. If I use Le Parfait jars, I do the same with the rubber rings.
What is a rolling boil?
This is when you boil your jam (or jelly) continuously, very hard. This gradually evaporates the water, enabling the jam to set.
Leave a reply
Hi there,
Have made the jam two years running. This time I halved the water, as it took three hours last time to set. This time it took two! I wonder if you really mean one LITRE of water? It seems an awful lot! Really like the jam though,but feel it would be better if it wasn’t cooked for so long. Added 3 cardomon pods this time for a change.
Hi Jude. I’ve found a great source of jars on ebay – kilnerclipdirect – is the seller. Really fast delivery and nice clip jars. The 200ml ones are great to use for gifts – I now have LOTS of damson jam and pear jam in the cupboard ready for Christmas presents!
Just made this jam and am so delighted by how it came out. Lovely, complex flavor.
In US units, I used about 5 pounds peeled, cored and chopped pears, 4 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup water. It took about 45 minutes to set. I used comice pears which are very juicy so probably didn’t need the water. This made six 1/2 pint jars.
Thank you for the great recipe.
Hello Kerryanna
Thank you so much for giving the American cup equivalents for this recipe – much appreciated. Delighted that you liked my recipe 🙂
Many thanks for the pear and lemon jam recipe. I searched for ages to find a yummy way of using up pears and this definitely works! Having spent most of the last week pickling – pickled red cabbage, beetroot chutney, marrow and apple chutney, tomato chutney – I now have over 80 small jars in storage. I wonder if you know where I can find a cheap supply of jars?
Having not had much success with jams before i was a bit nervous about trying this jam. However it has turned out beautifully, it does take a bit of time to set and i did add a squeeze or two more of lemon, but i achieved a good set and now have three very large jars of beautifully subtle jam of which i am very proud! Brill recipe and my faith in jam making is restored!
PS. This morning the jam was like glue so I put it all back in the pan, added gradual amounts of hot water to get a better consistency, re-sterilized the jars and hey presto! Jam as it should have been had I not over-cooked it. Got another jar out of it too. I’ve only made jam once before so am gaining experience and I will definitely make this one again, it’s bliss.
Brilliant jam recipe. It did take an hour longer on a rolling boil to set and the quantity was only half of what it should have been but it was well worth it. This has to be the nicest jam I have ever had and I will be making more. Thanks!
Thanks for posting this recipe, I’d made pear chutney and still had loads of pears left so it was a godsend!
I was a bit worried about the amount of water so used about 1/3 less and I’ve got a really good set, in fact my lemons were quite big so it’s almost too firm. The jam is absolutely delicious but my 1.5kg of pears only produced 2 jars of jam! Looks like I’m going to have to go pick some more pears! 🙂
Like Helen, I’d also been looking for a recipe for a while – I made 1/2 quantities yesterday and it tasted lovely, although I didn’t achieve the full set. I followed the advice above and reboiled the jam, but now it may have gone too far!
I used fairly unripe pears and the full amount of juice and it tasted lovely (until about half an hour ago!!!) I’ll definitely try it again though – a good recipe!
I’d been looking for a pear jam recipe to use the heap of conference pears in our new garden and this looked perfect. I made 1/2 quantity and it made perfect jam with a fresh pear and lemon flavour, even for me, a novice jam maker. It was yummy!
Then I did 1.5 quantity today and it look over 2 hours to boil to set. Jam OK but more like a sweet lemon marmalade than the lovely fresh pear flavour. Any ideas why? I even added extra lemon juice at one point to encourage setting.