Pear-Cranberry Conserve with Almonds & Crystallized Ginger
Excerpted from Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin by Allison Carroll Duffy (Fair Winds Press, June 2013)Allison says: "The combination of pear and cranberry is a delightful one for fall. The addition of ginger really makes the flavors sing, and the almonds provide a chewy crunch. For the best texture, use pears that are still quite firm so that the pear pieces remain intact when cooked. While unsweetened dried fruit is generally preferable in conserves, it’s very difficult to find unsweetened dried cranberries, so feel free to use the sweetened version if that’s what you have available."
Notes
TIP: Crystallize It!
This recipe calls for crystallized ginger — essentially, slices of fresh ginger root that have been cooked and preserved with sugar. Crystallized ginger is easy and quick to chop, so it’s very convenient in recipes. It’s available at Asian markets and at many natural food stores.
This recipe calls for crystallized ginger — essentially, slices of fresh ginger root that have been cooked and preserved with sugar. Crystallized ginger is easy and quick to chop, so it’s very convenient in recipes. It’s available at Asian markets and at many natural food stores.
Servings 5 cups
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe firm pears
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger finely chopped
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 1½ cups water
- ½ cup lemon juice bottled
- 4 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder mixed with sweetener
Instructions
- Before you begin, prepare calcium water. Todo this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box ofPomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use. Wash lids and bands and set aside.
- Peel, core, and dice pears.
- Combine diced pears in a saucepan with dried cranberries, crystallized ginger, sliced almonds, and the 1½ cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until fruit is soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Mix well.
- Measure 4 cups of the cooked mixture (saving any extra for another use), and return the measured quantity to the saucepan. Add lemon juice and calcium water, and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, combine sugar and pectin powder. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
- Bring pear mixture back to a full boil over high heat. Slowly add the pectin-sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve pectin while the conserve comes back up to a boil. Once the conserve returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with (marmalade/jam/jelly), leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
- Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, bring the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
- Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
This looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it!
Have you ever tried this with fresh cranberries? I am wondering if it would work if you double the amount of cranberries using fresh instead of dried.
Hi Margaret,
We haven’t tried this recipe with fresh cranberries, but we think it could work. It probably does make sense to double the amount of cranberries.
It’s possible you might need a little more sugar since the cranberries wouldn’t be sweetened at all and dried cranberries usually are.
Would love to hear your results if you give the fresh cranberries a try.
Thanks for using Pomona’s Pectin — and happy jamming!
I’ve got all the ingredients right now and going to try with the FRESH cranberries This looks brilliant. 🙂 Thanks for the idea Margaret :).
How did it come out with fresh cranberries? That’s what I have too.
This looks just perfect, for what I was wanting to make with Fall fruits.
Hi Earlene,
Yes, I think you’ll like it!
This looks so good and I have all the ingredients with my late pear tree just coming in. I have home dried cranberries from last season and hadn’t really decided what I’ll do with them. I’ll definitely be making this in the next few days.
Thank you!
You’re welcome Joy. Glad we hit the sweet spot for you with that recipe.