Tigress Can Jam - tiny-tangy sweet-n-spicy

Seckel Pears are the perfect size for a child; I remember eating tiny perfect pears, sweet and fragrant.

Though this recipe for pickled pears looked appealing, I wanted to just temper their sweetness with a small bit of tangy vinegar. I felt confident enough to work this one out myself; since pears can be canned in just water (but why?), anything added will not compromise safety.

Inspired by this recipe here for spiced poached pears, I scaled it to the eleven pears that I had. Would that I had checked my canning supplies before I started, there were enough pears for 3½ halfpint jars but only two canning lids left in the box... so one bigger jar will sit in the fridge.

11 seckel pears
lemon or lime juice
2½ c water
½ c white balsamic vinegar
1¼ c sugar
3 1" pieces of cinnamon
1 star anise
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Peel the pears*, leaving the stems on, but removing the blossom end. As they are peeled, drop them into acidulated water to keep them white. Usually I just add a few splashes of lemon juice to a bowl of water and call it good, but there was no lemon in the fridge, so a few of the frozen lime juice cubes did a useful stand-in.

acidulated pears

Make up a syrup with all the ingredients, bring to a boil, then add the pears and simmer until the pears a somewhat tender, about five or ten minutes. Using regular fruit canning procedure, put the pears into clean jars, cover with the hot syrup leaving a ½" headspace, tuck one of the cinnamon sticks into each jar, cap and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

simmering in syrup

I expect this would be splendid with roast pork, and quite delectable as part of a winter holiday cake...

two jars full

* some recipes do not call for peeling the pears, but to my mind, the tender pears would not be a much of a treat with the tough texture of canned pear skin. You might feel differently, and certainly the spice mixture is another area for personal preference to "spice to taste"

Next up, quinces...