Browsing at the Farmer’s Market, I spotted seckel pears. Did you know that they are only 2-3 inches tall? I had no idea they were so tiny! But what gorgeous deep red and green coloring they bear. And they are also adorable as all heck in that miniature size.
I bought them because I had remembered seeing a blog post about making seckel pear jam, and the price was right for testing out both the pears and the jam. Until now I had only ever tasted the big green pears from the grocery store.
When I got home, out came the knife and I chopped up the first pear, only to experience disappointment because it was still hard as a rock. I had to let them sit out on the counter to soften up over the next few days. Sigh…
I’m not sure why the recipe is called “jam” when in actuality the cooked pear comes out more like applesauce. Still tasty, but know that this is not really a thick and spreadable jam. I thought about calling it pearsauce, but that just doesn’t have a pleasing ring to it.
Other than eating it by the spoonful like applesauce, I had read that this could be mixed in with oatmeal or spread onto oat scones. A little bell dinged in my head at that point because I had saved a maple oatmeal scone recipe. Perfect opportunity to test it out. Indeed, they do pair well. I’ll post that scone recipe soon.
In the meantime, if you don’t have seckel pears and have an itch to test this out, just use any type of pear. However, if you plan to can this, Asian pears won’t work because of their low acidity (from the Food in Jars blog post where I found the recipe).
Seckel Pear Jam
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 pounds seckel pears (or other types)–should be about 3 cups chopped pears
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cardamom
- juice of half a lemon
DIRECTIONS
- Wash, core, and roughly chop the pears. You should have about 3 cups. Heap into a skillet.
- Add brown sugar; stir until the juices start to run. Turn heat to high and let jam simmer and sputter, stirring regularly, until the remaining juices are thick and sticky.
- Add cardamom and lemon juice. Cook for another minute or two, giving the spice and juice time to integrate.
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
SOURCE: Food in Jars
Scrumptious and Sumptuous 