Something new in the kitchen!!

 Well I did something today I have never done before... I made Pear Preserves!

I mentioned in this post there were tons of pears on the tree and I wanted to try and make something and well, I found the following recipe and got to work yesterday!

You will need:

6 Cups peeled, cored, and sliced pears

1 Cup water

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 (2 oz) package powdered fruit pectin

8 Cups white sugar

2 TSP ground allspice

2 TSP ground nutmeg

1/2 Cup brown sugar

Sterilize jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Let simmer while making jam.

In a large saucepan, combine pears, water, and lemon juice. 

Cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in pectin, and bring to a full boil Stir in the white sugar, and continue boiling and stirring uncovered for 1 minute, until sugar is dissolved. Remove

from heat, and stir in brown sugar, allspice, and nutmeg.

Quickly fill jars to within 1/2 inch of the top. Wipe rims clean, and top with lids. Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes to seal.

I used my Pampered Chef apple slicer and then chopped with a knife. 

All ready to go! The amount chopped ended up being perfect, especially since the pears I picked to use were all sizes.

Stirring in the pectin. 

I didn't get a picture adding anything else because I was a little worried it would thicken up too much as I was trying to get all the jars filled. 

Some things I learned:

• I could have easily had two more jars of the preserves. Next time, I will have more jars prepared. I just put the remainder in a larger mason jar we had and put it in the fridge.
• When I was adding the pectin, I realized the box I purchased (which is the only one I could find) it was 1.75 oz. Not ever doing this before I wasn't sure if that .25oz would actually make a difference. Not to toot my own horn but I think they turned out pretty dang good for being the first time.
• I did not process the jars in boiling water. After speaking with my MIL I followed her plan of letting the jars simmer in water, just above the rim, for 5-7 minutes. She told me after they started cooling I would here the lid 'pop' and I could feel the 'bubble' on the lid go down. EVERYTHING happened just as she said!! I was also a little nervous with the whole glass, boiling, making sure the glass didn't get cool too fast. Very nerve wrecking for me.

And just to give you a mental picture of what was going on in the kitchen as far as that last statement-- We have granite countertops and I was not satisfied with one towel down. I had pot holders lined up with three thick kitchen towels placed on top of that. Told ya I was a little nervous but all ended up being great!

Coach and I both tried the preserves on a piece of toast, and although I have never had it before, I thought it was good and so did he! I will be sharing with the family for feedback for next time.

Happy Canning!