Love for Food

Time is running out for canning season in New York. It makes me sad to see all the stalls empty at the local farmer's market. This past weekend I headed over to the Union Square Farmer's Market to find some qunices for jelly. There were none to be found but I saw some great Asian Pears.

The pears turned into a beautiful Rosemary Thyme Asian Pear Jam. This jam is very hereby, which I love but could turn some people off. It pears well with a ham sandwich or would be great on a holiday cheese plate. It would also make a great hostess gift for Thanksgiving!

* Recipe adapted from the book Edible DIY, by Lucy Baker.
Ingredients: Makes four pint jars, 16 (2 tablespoon) serving per jar
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin
7 medium, ripe pears, cored and chopped
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
4 teaspoons calcium water (included in the Pomona's box)
2 heaping teaspoons of fresh chopped rosemary and thyme
1/4 teaspoon unsalted butter
Method:

• Combine sugars and pectin in a medium bowl and whisk to blend.
• Combine the pears, lemon juice, calcium water, rosemary and thyme in a large, heavy bottomed pot and bring to a bowl over medium heat - stirring frequently. Cook about fifteen minutes until the fruit breaks down a little.
• Add the sugar-pectin mixture and add the butter. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and boil for one minute.
• Remove the pot from the heat and ladle into jars and process in a water bath.

Weight Watcher Plus Points: 1 point per serving