Pear and Lemon Jam

We were but out foraging a few days ago and came across a wild pear tree buts its fruit was very hard. 

We would normally preserve pears by bottling in syrup (for information on bottling follow the link - http://cyprusgardener.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-preserve-fruit-by-bottling.html - but with these rock hard pears we decided the only option was to make them into a jam. 

You can never have enough stored jam which is always handy for gifts or to swap for produce somebody else has a surplus of. Bartering jars of jam for marrows is better than cash and both parties are happy.

Ingredients needed - 1 litre of water; 2 kg of peeled, cored and chopped pears; 3 lemons of which you need to thinly peel the skin, chop finely and then juice and 1 kg of granulated sugar. 

Step 1 - Add the pears to the water with the lemon juice and peel, bring to the boil and simmer until the pears are just tender. 

Step 2 - Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. 

Step 3 - Bring back to a boil, stirring occasionally, until setting point is reached. This should take between 20 and 25 minutess. Check for setting by placing some jam onto a plate for a minute or so until a crinkled skin is formed and the jam is sticky. 

Step 4 - Pour into sterilised jars and seal. Once cooled clean off any excess, label and date. 

Step 5 - Store in a cool and dark place.

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