Autumn Blessings Jam

It is not uncommon to walk in my home and see newly canned jars of food sitting on my side table or china cabinet shelf. Yesterday, I had just finished canning this recipe. The kitchen was cleaned up, and I was starving. As I bustled around the kitchen, scrounging up a late lunch, I looked up and the view caught my eye. The warm smile worked its way from my eyes to my toes. Sometimes, it is the beauty in the simple and mundane that bring the warmest satisfaction and contentment, and that is exactly what I felt seeing my little jars nestled away and cooling. It may sound silly, but it's true. I love the satisfaction of a warm, clean kitchen with food cooling in jars on my shelves. It is given to its own form of beauty that I enjoy. This little life of mine is a beautiful gift from God.

Whether beautiful jars cooling in a freshly cleaned environment is what you enjoy or not, you can still enjoy this jam. It, too, evokes the feelings thinking of fall typically produces. It has a warm depth from the cinnamon and pie spices with the sweetness combining with the brightness of the dried berries to all be melded together with the pomegranate juice. To taste it makes me feel like I should be at a fall festival with hayrides and apple bobbing on a cool, crisp evening while sipping apple cider around a fire...you know the Hallmark version of fall, not the the scorching, oppressive fall we have been enduring here in the south. ;)

So, tell me. In what do you find beauty, satisfaction, and contentment? Then try the recipe and tell me what you think!

Autumn Blessings Jam
3 c pears, cored, chopped and crushed
2/3 c dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/4 c pomegranate juice
1/4 c bottled lemon juice
1 t cinnamon, can reduce 
1/8 t ginger
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t allspice
2 T powdered pectin
4-1/2 c sugar
1/2 brown sugar

Prepare the canner, jars, and lids by putting the jars in the canner on the stove with water to keep them hot until the jam is done. I also like to lay out everything I will need to fill and prepare the jars once the jam is done since everything runs at a quick pace after the cooking begins.

Gather all the ingredients for the recipe to begin prepping and measuring them out.

Measure out the spices, sugar, juices, and pectin. Don't forget you can reduce the cinnamon if you don't enjoy a strong cinnamon flavor.

Next, measure out and chop the cranberries.

Peel, core, chop, and measure out the pears. I like to do a cup at a time and store them in lemon lime soda or lemon water until I am done with all the pears.

Next, drain the pears well, and crush them. I used a potato masher. Try not to leave any large chunks.

Now the ingredients are prepped and cooking can begin.

Add all the ingredients except the sugar to a large stock pot.

Bring this mixture to a rolling boil, stirring continuously. Then add add the sugar in all at once. Continue to stir continuously. Bring the mixure back up to a rolling boil. Boil exactly one minute.

When the mixture has boiled one minute, remove the mixure from the heat. If foam has formed as in the picture below, use the edge of a large metal spoon to scrape the foam from the top of the jam mixture.

Remove the jars from the warming canner and fill them to 1/4 inch headspace. (If I am making something I am considering entering into a fair, I fill the jar nearly full. As the jelly cools, it will almost always contract inside the jar to the proper headspace that judges look for.) Make sure to wipe the rim of each jar clean and seal with a lid and ring. The jars in the photo below do not yet have a ring so that you can see the headspace left in the jar.

Place the sealed jars in the canner and process for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the canner. Set the jars in a draft free area and do not disturb them for twenty-four hours.

I hope you enjoy the recipe and find beauty in the world around you today!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed! 💕