Roasted pears, two types of grapes, vanilla, and rum. Autumn in a jar. This jam is really rich and flavourful, but not overly sweet, or overly strong in flavour. Roasted pears are sweet and mellow, and the grapes are fresh and almost a tad sour. A perfect blend to spread on a piece of toast for a breakfast on a cold wintery morning. This jam can be poured into small jars and given as an edible gift around Christmas. And, if you want to make it extra special, add a square or two of really good quality dark chocolate.
Ingredients
500 grams black grapes
500 grams red grapes
500 grams pears
200 grams granulated sugar
300 grams jam sugar (2:1)
120 ml lemon juice
¼ vanilla bean
½ tablespoon dark rum
Preparation
Start by oven roasting the pears. Cut the pears in half and place them on a piece of aluminium foil large enough to loosely wrap them. Place the wrapped pears on a large baking sheet and bake them in a preheated oven, at 180˚C (350˚F) for about 30 minutes or so, until they are tender. Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely. This step can be done even a whole day in advance.
When the pears are cold and ready, peel them and remove any pips or tough parts. Wash the grapes and place them in a large blender, along with 120 ml of cold water and the pears. Blend until completely pureed. Transfer the blend to a mash strainer and strain all the juice from the mixture. Take your time with this step; you want as much juice extracted as possible. Discard any pips and grape skins that stay in the strainer.
Place the mixture into a large pot with a heavy bottom, add the lemon juice, scraped seeds from a quarter of a vanilla bean, and the granulated sugar. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat and cook, stirring often, for about 20 minutes (up to 30 minutes, depending on your stove), until the mixture reduces by a third and becomes smooth and thicker. Add the jam sugar and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 7 minutes. Once done, remove the jam from the stove and add the rum. Pour the still hot jam into sterilized jars and store in a cold, dark place. Yields 750 grams.
