Pear Preserves

Pear Preserves

Text and Photo by Jac Kyles Baker 

Makes 1  cup

Ingredients

3 cups or 5 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, quartered and diced into chunks*

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 small lemon for juice and zest

Preparation

Place prepared pears in a large, shallow microwave safe bowl or pie pan. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and lemon juice to macerate pears. Cover bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

Uncover pears.  Stir in a 2 inch piece of lemon zest to pears.  Microwave on HIGH 2 minutes.  Carefully remove bowl or pan from microwave.  Add remaining granulated sugar and brown sugar to pears.  Stir.  Microwave on HIGH 5 minutes.  Remove 1/2 cup pear liquid.**  Microwave on HIGH 5 minutes.

Total time will depend on the pears’ ripeness. My pear preserves were done to my satisfaction  after 15 minutes.

Cool pear preserves.  Store in a glass jar with lid.  Keep refrigerated.

Cook’s Notes

*Avoid using super soft pears, unless you want pear sauce.  Pear preserves is a good use for rock hard supermarket pears. 

**I sweetened beverages with this light pear syrup. I kept it refrigerated in a small jar.