Sometime last fall, I bought a copy of a British preserving book called Notes from the Jam Cupboard
Of all the possible preserves and dishes I marked, there was one that stuck particularly fast in my memory. Pear and chocolate jam. As we all know, I have something of a weakness for pear jams (cardamom. vanilla. cinnamon. lavender.). I had to try a jam that has you melt nearly two bars of dark chocolate into a pot of pear jam that you’ve gently spiked with cinnamon. Truly, I couldn’t imagine how anything could sound more divine.
I’ve spent more time than is rational thinking about this jam and have twice bought pears with the intention of making it. Finally, earlier this week, my stars aligned and I made a batch of this jam, exactly as written. It cooked up beautifully and made me realize that a jam made from peeled pears is slightly more refined and elegant than the ones I’ve often made (not that I’ll be peeling all my pears from here on out, but there are moments when it can be nice).
In her head note, Mary Tregellas says that this is a jam that “has a particular affinity with buttery things, such as brioche and croissants.” Having made a batch, I understand why she said this. This is an incredibly sweet jam. There are four parts sugar to five parts fruit, and then you add a mountain of dark chocolate.
This is not something you’ll probably want to smear on toast for breakfast each morning, but it would make an amazing glaze for a dense, barely-sweet chocolate cake or as a filling layer in an elegant tart (there’s even a tart recipe included in the book).
I’m certain that this jam will raise some safety flags for some of you out there, but according to the reading I’ve done, I believe it is safe for canning (I added a boiling water bath step that isn’t included in the book). Good dark chocolate (which is what I used) is made without the addition of milk solids, so there’s no dairy in this product. The amount of sugar in the recipe will help keep it safely preserved for some time.
There is some reason for caution on the pH front, though. Chocolate is quite low in acid. However, most pear varieties have enough acid for safe canning (though not asian pears) and the recipe includes the juice of two lemons. If using fresh lemons for acid balancing makes you uncomfortable, you can substitute bottled lemon juice (a medium lemon averages 3 tablespoons of lemon juice). When I made my batch, I added the juice of 2 1/2 lemons, which gave me a full half cup.
All that said, this is a lovely jam. It tastes a great deal like a slice of pear dipped into chocolate fondue. It’s a treat I’m happy to welcome into my pantry and I’ll be looking for ways to best use it going forward.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds ripe pears (approximately 7-8 pears)
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 1/2 ounces good quality dark chocolate (70% minimum, higher is better)
Instructions
- Prepare a boiling water bath canner and 5-6 half pint jars.
- Peel, core and chop pears. Place them in a wide, non-reactive pan with the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons water.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until pears begin to soften and break down.
- While pears cook, chop chocolate and set aside.
- Once pears are quite soft, add sugar and cinnamon. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring regularly, until the jam reached 220 degrees F.
- Remove the pot from the heat and scrape in the chocolate. Stir until it is fully melted.
- Funnel into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process for 10 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from canner and place on a folded kitchen towel to cool.
- Once jars are fully cooled, test seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly. Sealed jars can be stored jars can be stored at room temperature for up to one year.
Notes
Adapted from "Notes From the Jam Cupboard" by Mary Tregallas.
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Hmmm… Chocolate doesn’t need to be low-acid. I wonder if the taste of the non-alkali processed chocolates would work as well here. (you can get some tasty ones in the latin american section of the Supreme Thriftway at 43rd & Walnut)
Mmm pears. I never manage to not eat them long enough to preserve them, but this is a delightful-looking recipe.
That’s a really great idea, Livia. I will look into it!
I cannot wait to try this jam! It’ll have to wait a bit, as I have 16 pounds of red bell peppers to deal with first… but then, I’m making croissants and this jam!
this looks awesome, I once canned up a made up recipe of mine-made a strong tea with chocolate mint, then added in darkest cocoa powder, along with a little sweetening, used the sugar free pectin-I had no problems with it, still have a few jars that are 2 years old now
This looks amazing! I’m drooling now!
Looks incredible! Have you any suggestions, or have you made any adjustments, for Pomona pectin? I am trying to eliminate much of the sugar (white) in my recipes and move toward Pomona’s. Love your site and book, please keep up the good work.
oh. my. god. this is glorious.
It would be really cool to have a good pH meter for the kitchen. I did a cursory search but could only find guidelines and no reviews of various meters compared for the best accuracy and value.
Maybe you could get some of the manufacturers to supply sample units for testing! Then, you could publish your findings…
The pear and chocolate combo sounds excellent!
Oh.My.Goodness.Gracious! I will be trying this recipe soon! Hopefully this weekend, after I finish making marmalade and other versions of preserved citrus. I have pears that were picked fresh from my parents’ tree last September that I have peeled (yay!), cut up, treated with citric acid and mixed with a little sugar before freezing… I’m trying to clear out my freezer now, so the timing of this post couldn’t be more perfect! I also need to get this book, too. Research, you know!
Mmm, looks heavenly. I, like Letty, am clearing out my freezer of last summer’s fruit bounty. Been making lots of berry jam the last couple days. Have you ever tried the Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topper sauce in the Ball (Complete Book of Home Preserving) book? It is amazing over ice cream. If anyone is at all concerned about the safety issues with chocolate, I have frozen the choc./raspberry sauce (using blackberries instead), in jars, with fine results. Now, onto printing out the chocolate pear recipe you posted. Thank you, she says, happily.
I had to come back and let you know I ordered this book-it just looked like an excellent read-thanks for the reference Kathy
Beautiful! Delectable post and recipe. Love your images too.
As I have worked with fruits & vegetables & jars I have found myself at times looking for a sense of comfort and community as I wrestle with doubts (pH, etc.) and crave inspiration. Thank you for this post (the first of yours I have read).
My curiosity has been sparked! Thank you for sharing your talents.
Oh. My. GOODNESS!!!!! I will definitely be making this in the very near future. Then I’ll need to make some brioche (darn! ha!) Could you use unsweetened chocolate — I have a bunch of Guittard Oban Liquior wafers (unsweetened chocolate disks). Just curious.
Perfect, my walking cooler has a huge case of Conference pears that I was about to start preserving. This will be a fun recipe to try. Now I just need that recipe for Speedy Pear and Chocolate Tart! I’ve added this cookbook to my wishlist. Thanks!!
Perfect, I have a huge case of Conference pears from our orchard that I was going to start preserving. Now I just need that recipe for Speedy pear and chocolate tart to sell at the farmers market. I have added the cookbook to my wishlist–according to the description on Amazon, it sounds like a good read (the author got her degree in Medieval German at Oxford!). Thanks!!!
Yum! I can picture spreading this on buttermilk biscuits for a delicious dessert! After buying your book, I have wanted to make everything you make! Seriously! Can’t wait to make this soon!
Two of my favorite flavors in a jar! This looks ridiculously good. And I’ve got just enough jam jars that I can make a batch for my wedding favors too! Awesome recipe!
FYI, the book has been published in this country under the name “Homemade Preserves and Jams” – same book, same author, same recipes, but a different cover. Maybe the publishers figured Americans wouldn’t know what a “jam cupboard” was? The recipes and canning techniques don’t follow what we would consider safe practices here, but they look delicious and most could likely be processed in a boiling water bath.
Thanks Cory. I saw that book, but wasn’t sure if it was the same thing, primarily because Homemade Preserves and Jams seems to have about 10 fewer recipes than Notes from the Jam Cupboard. I wonder what they pulled?
What an unexpected combination, but sounds sooo good!
Any thoughts about other fruits that might substitute for the pears? I know pears are lovely but I just can’t get next to them…
Come early summer, strawberries would be nice. Raspberries are also a traditional pair with chocolate. I can’t think of any other fruit that’s in season right now that would work, though.
[...] Pear and Chocolate Jam (!) :: Food in Jars [...]
Delectable post and recipe. Pear and chocolate jam has been a firm fav of mine for years, but it’s been a while since I’ve made it, will need to make some soon.
I am so making this for the next food swap! And of course I’ll save some for myself. This would probably taste great as a topping for vanilla ice cream.
Believe it or not, just yesterday I pulled out all of my long forgotten canning supplies and jars ….. to give it all away. Then you somehow showed up in my FB timeline. Pears and chocolate? Grapefruit jam? I’m thinkin’ my supplies are staying here after all, and time to get back to it. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Dear canning friends….you can slip the skins from pears. i’m not kidding. We’ve been doing it for years. just give them a quick blanch in boiling water spiked with vinegar. I dont usually measure, using the ‘give it a good glug’ system of measurement. Try a quarter cup of white or cider (or anything 5%) per 2 gallons?
Pop the pears in 5 or 6 at a time, give them 10 – 30 seconds, depending on how soft they are. Then 30 second in an ice bath and they slip their skins just like tomatoes.
Easy peasy.
Makes it pretty easy to tear through 60 pounds of pears in a day.
make that 1/4 cup vinegar per gallon of water
I’m so happy to see you’ve done some experimenting with a recipe like this and are sharing your findings! I read several recipes last fall for using dark chocolate in jams and thought they sounded deliciously exciting, but a bit beyond me at the moment. Now I may have to give this a go. I think I saw one for blueberries and chocolate, but I believe they have a bit less acidity than pears. Hmmm….
This sounds amazing! My mind is pretty much blown by the idea of using dark chocolate in jam recipes. Can’t wait to try this with other fruits as well!
[...] in Jars does it again for me, this time with a Pear and Chocolate Jam. I’ve done a riff on black forest jam, using cherries and chocolate, but this looks [...]
This looks delicious!
Have you ever seen the book “Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber”? I checked it out from the library but I wasn’t confident her methods and recipes were safe.
I’ve made a few recipes from that book and am still here to write about it. She also has a chocolate raspberry sauce that never quite gets used as a topping in my house. I eat it straight from the jar with a spoon.
That sounds incredible. Making it this week!
i forgot to peel the pears first and my jam came out super-thick. did leaving the skins on have something to do with this, or was it just one of those “this time the jam came out a bit thick” sort of things?
The peels shouldn’t impact the texture. It’s probably that you cooked it a minute or two longer than it needed. The chocolate also makes for a slightly thicker than normal jam, too.
It’s cheating a little but I’ve used “buttery flake” crescent rolls to make mini apple pies and I’ll bet this would make an incredible substitute for the apple pie filling!