Pears & vanilla bean combine to make a golden sweet jam. A beautiful and decadent spread.
Oh my goodness this jam! It’s simple with just pears, sugar & vanilla beans (plus pectin) but the flavors are truly a match made in heaven. This is the other recipe I tried this year with the 30 pound box of pears I got. I am such a sucker for vanilla. It. Is. Everything. (Side note: what is is with the capital and period after each words that is so popular right now. I just did it but why are we doing that? I guess to add a dramatic flair? I am pretty dramatic so I’m going with it. Anyways, back to this jam.) What would we do with out it? (I am talking about vanilla in case you for forgot, I tend to ramble). Pear & vanilla just go together. And using the vanilla bean is key to this jam. The little beans you scrape out are so pretty in the golden jam. Plus the flavor just won’t be the same if you use a vanilla extract. If vanilla beans were not so expensive I think I would use them so much more. But I guess it’s true, you get what you pay for (most of the time anyways). What about you? Do you love using a whole vanilla bean? What is your favorite way to use it? I’d love to hear!
- 8 cups pears, chopped small (There’s no need to peel.)
- 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
- 4 cups sugar
- 3-6 Tablespoons powder pectin*
- Prepare your jars (I just put mine in the dishwasher & run a cycle to sanitize and get hot & ready). Heat canning lids in a small pot over very low heat while you’re preparing the jam to ensure a good seal. Place screw tops aside so they are ready.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine chopped pears, sugar and vanilla beans (and all that bean-y goodness you scraped out).
- Cook over medium heat until the fruit can easily be smashed with the back of a wooden spoon. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to break the fruit down into a mostly-smooth sauce (remove the vanilla bean solids before blending).
- Add the pectin and bring to a rolling boil. Let boil for a full five minutes in order to active the pectin (or for the amount of time the directions on the box of pectin say).
- Fill jars, wipe rims to remove any residual jam, apply lids that were in the simmering water and screw on the rims.
- Process the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (start the timer when the pot has returned to a boil). When the time has elapsed, remove jars from pot and place the jars on a towel-lined countertop. Let them cool undisturbed for at least two hours. During this time, the lids should seal. Check to ensure the jars have sealed by pushing down on the center of the lid. If it feels solid and doesn’t move, it is sealed.
This looks delicious! How many jars of jam did it make?
Thank you! I got 7 jars (the 8 ounce jam jars).
No need to peel? I’d think there would be bits of the peel in the jam. But I don’t seem to see any in yours.
Is there pieces of peel in it? I want to try this but I want to know what to expect:-)
You could peel them if you want. The peel softens and I didn’t mind it but I am sure you could peel if you prefer.
Can you substitute pure vanilla for the vanilla bean?
I think you could. I haven’t tried that. It would just not have that pretty look with the vanilla beans but the flavor would be similar.
Do you add any liquid in with the pears, sugar, and vanilla bean? Seems like it needs water with the sugar to make the syrup.
No, it will cook down. The juice from the pears will create a liquid. 🙂