Pear Jelly was the perfect way to use up the rest of the pears that were slowly ripening in a bag by my back door. We had a lot of pears, and you can only eat so many. After giving a lot of them away, and making Pear Gorgonzola Bites, some muffins and lots of salads, I still had a lot of pears. This jelly used them all up. Which is good, because when they all get ripe at once, there's just no way we could eat them all.
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Jelly Making vs Jam Making
I've made a lot of jam, but always hesitated to make jelly because it seemed complicated. What with having to extract juice from the fruit first. The first time I decided to tackle jelly making was Grape Jelly from our homegrown grapes. From there I made Pepper Jelly from garden peppers, and now I make both every year. It turns out that there's nothing complicated about jelly making. There is, however, a little passive time involved while you wait for the juice to extract. And passive time means you can get some other stuff done. (or not).
When making jelly, you use the whole fruit, skin and all, because the skin contains a lot of the fruit's pectin. So there's a little less effort required when it comes to peeling, coring, and chopping than if you were making jam.
If you want to make some jelly, The Old Farmer's Almanac has some great info and tips. How to Make Jelly. This recipe comes from the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving, which has over 400 recipes.
This Jelly is Not Just For Toast
I love the jewelled colours of little jars of jelly, all lined up neatly in the pantry. And they make great homemade gifts, too. Besides just toast, you can use this pear jelly as a glaze for meat or poultry. It also makes a great Asian style dipping sauce when mixed with some soy sauce and rice vinegar. Toss it, along with some balsamic vinegar, on winter squash before roasting. It's delicious stirred into plain yogurt or hot oatmeal, too.
Recipe
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Pear Jelly Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 lbs ripe pears
- 7 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 pouch 85 ml liquid pectin
Instructions
- Wash pears and remove the blossom and stem ends, but do not core or peel them
- Cut pears into quarters and place in a large, deep stainless steel pot.
- Add enough cold water to cover the fruit
- Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat, cover and boil gently just until pears are softened, about 30 minutes, occasionally mashing with a potato masher
- Transfer to a dampened jelly bag set over a deep bowl, or into a sieve lined with several layers of dampened cheesecloth.
- Allow to drip at least 2 hours.
- Don't press or squeeze the fruit, as this will cloud the jelly.
- You should end up with 5 cups of pear juice.
- Combine the collected pear juice and sugar into a large, deep, stainless steel pot.
- Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat
- Stir in liquid pectin and continue to boil hard, stirring constantly, for one minute
- Skim off foam and transfer to hot sterilized jars
- Wipe jar rims and apply lids and screw bands
- Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes
- Remove from canner and allow to cool before ensuring jars are sealed and storing.
Notes
Nutrition
Shea P
I love love LOVE this pear jelly. Delicious, thank you!!
Colleen
So happy that you love it Shea!
Maggie
Literally the best pear jelly I have ever had. I had company over and they were absolutely thrilled with this!! 10/10 recommend. My mouth is watering just looking at these photos!
Sarah C
We had a ton of pears from our neighbor's fruit tree and I didn't want them to go to waste, so I made this pear jelly recipe and it's delicious - definitely making it into my repertoire every year.
Colleen
I'm glad you found a great way to use up those pears, Sarah!
Kristin Winkler
Could you use equal amounts of apples and pears
Colleen
Hi Kristin, Absolutely, you could use equal amounts of apples and pears, which would be delicious. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Pamela Haymond
Well this time I followed the recipe to the letter. Still got pear water. It didnt set at all. I'm using Ball liquid pectin as directed. Can I reprocess with the other packet of liquid pectin?
Pamela Haymond
Well I messed it up again. Got all the way to the add the pectin part and realized all I had is powdered pectin. So I added that. Jelly tastes great (I ran my finger in the pan and I add cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to mine) but it didnt set AT ALL. Can I reprocess it using liquid pectin?
Colleen
Sorry to hear this Pamela! I would definitely go ahead and try reprocessing it. If it doesn't work, you some lovely spiced pear juice which you could use in some creative recipes. (I love that you added the spices) If you doo reprocess it, I would so appreciate it if you come back to let us all know whether it worked. Good luck!
Darla Titus
Pam,
when I have a problem with jelly not setting it has always been not enough sugar. Hopefully this helps.
Nancie Krankkala
It calls for liquid pectin, can I use the powder?
Colleen
Hi Nancie, Dry & liquid pectin are not interchangeable. However, you can adjust the recipe to use dry pectin. Here's a link that explains how: https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/liquid-pectin-vs-powdered-pectin-11187.html
Nicole
Do you drain water before letting pears drip?
Colleen
Hi Nicole, No you won't need to drain the water.
Chuck
I ended up with 8 cups of juice. How much sugar should I add and how much pectin. Should I do 2 four cup batches?
Colleen
Hi Chuck, I would do it in 2 four cup batches, using 6 cups of sugar and one pouch of pectin per batch.
Sue
I have tried this recipe twice. Both times the jelly did not set. I tried cooking longer the 2nd time and it was a little thicker. I did have pretty ripe fruit so am wondering if it doesn't have as much natural pectin. Any suggestions about adding additional pectin another half pouch or a whole pouch?
Colleen
Hi Sue. Sorry to hear that your jelly didn't set. You are correct about the ripe fruit. Jelly is best made with slightly under-ripe fruit because the riper the fruit the less natural pectin. Also, check the expiry date on your pectin. If it's expired it may not perform. You can salvage it though. Here's a link with instructions: https://www.pickyourown.org/how_to_fix_runny_jam.htm#:~:text=Keep%20in%20mind%20that%20one,the%20batch%20is%20under%20cooked.
Kathy Tillman
Sue, I haven't tried this recipe yet but I will soon. In my experience, I've never gotten Certo (pouch pectin) to jell right. I always use sure Jell which is what I'll use when I try this recipe. I've put up 130 pints of Muscadine jelly (and still making as I find pint jars!), 88 pints of strawberry fig, watermelon rind pickles, and just canned 48 quarts of pears this week! :O Every time I've tried Certo, it doesn't set for me. I know it must for some folks or they wouldn't sell enough to stay in business! You might try that. Sounds like a great recipe. After peeling and coring a million pears, I'll be glad to just boil them!! Can't wait!
Robert
So how does 5 cups of juice make 8.5 pints of jelly?
Colleen
Hi Robert, By adding 7.5 cups of sugar. Check out other jelly recipes or go to a canning site. This recipe is tried and true from experienced jam & jelly makers in my family. Hope you try it!
Colleen
Hi Rose. I am totally unsure why your jelly didn't set. There are a lot of factors. After three days, I can promise it won't set. If you followed the recipe exactly, and if your pectin was not expired, the recipe would absolutely work for sure.
Lisa Kish
Thought I would try this after receiving humongous bag of pears from my sister. How many half pints will this make?
Colleen
Hi Lisa, The recipe makes 8 1/2 pints. Enjoy your jelly making!
Sandi
I made some pear jelly last week and it was cloudy not clear. I used Pamonas pectin. Any ideas? Does your recipe produce clear jelly?
Colleen
Hi Sandi, Patience is required if you want clear jelly, it's important to not to ever press the fruit when the juice is extracting. If you do, your jelly will be cloudy.
Portugafoodie
Im going to be making some this week but I will be adding amaretto to some of mine.
Hopefully it works
Colleen
Oh, that does sound delicious! I would love to hear how it turns out. Good luck!