Pear Jam

Pear jam turns a countertop full of ripening pears into a soft, honey-sweet preserve that tastes like autumn in a jar, ready to spoon over pancakes or spread on warm toast.

It takes just three ingredients and no boxed pectin, so you can start a batch tonight with what’s already in your pantry.

Pear trees have a way of ripening everything at once, and once you’ve put up jars of canned pears and a batch of pear sauce, jam is a natural next step for the fruit still piling up on the counter. Pear jam is an old-fashioned preserve, simple in flavor, and I think that simplicity is exactly why it shines. Every spoonful tastes like pure pear, as if the fruit came off the tree only moments before.

This recipe is made without added pectin, like most of my old-fashioned jams. Pears are naturally rich in pectin, especially when they’re just barely ripe, and the lemon juice contributes a bit more while helping the fruit keep its color. I cover the whole technique in my guide to making jam without added pectin, which explains how sugar, acid, and a good rolling boil work together to set a preserve.

The pears macerate in sugar and lemon juice overnight, which draws out their juices and creates the syrup the fruit cooks in the next day. It’s mostly hands-off time, and the actual cooking only takes 10 to 15 minutes.

If you have more fruit than jam jars, and you’re looking for something even more hands-off, pear butter and maple bourbon pear butter are a few other slow-cooked pear canning recipes that work through a lot of pears in one batch.

Ingredients for Pear Jam

This pear jam calls for just three ingredients, and each one is doing real work in the finished preserve. Quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, and here’s what to know about each ingredient before you start, including what to look for at the orchard and what can (and can’t) be adjusted.

• Pears: Choose flavorful pears that are slightly underripe or barely ripe, since fruit at that stage carries the most natural pectin. According to the PennState Agricultural Extension, varieties that hold up well in home canning include Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou, and Comice (Bartlett pears are pictured in this post). Asian pears are lower in acid and are handled differently, so read about canning Asian pears before substituting them here.
• Granulated Sugar: Sugar sweetens the jam, helps it reach a good set, and builds the syrup the pears cook in. This recipe gives a range so you can adjust to taste, and since ripe pears bring plenty of their own sweetness, the lower end still makes a lovely preserve. If you’d like to cut sugar further, see the low sugar options below.
• Lemon Juice: Lemon juice brightens the flavor, keeps the diced pears from browning while you work, and contributes extra natural pectin during maceration. It also adds acidity, which also helps with set and balances the flavor with all the sugar required. I use Santa Cruz organic lemon juice for canning whenever lemon juice is listed as an ingredient, since bottled juice has a consistent, tested acidity.

That’s the whole list, no boxed pectin and no special trip to the grocery store. Beyond the ingredients, you’ll want a heavy-bottomed jam pot with plenty of room, since this jam foams up as it cooks, plus your usual water bath canning setup and 4 to 5 half-pint jars.

How to Make Pear Jam

Plan to start this recipe the day before you want to can, since the pears need 12 to 24 hours to macerate before they’re cooked. The hands-on work is minimal on both days, and the overnight rest is what builds the syrup that becomes the base of the jam.

If you’re truly pressed for time, you can shorten the maceration to about 4 hours, though I’d treat that as the bare minimum. The longer soak pulls more juice from the fruit, gives the sugar time to dissolve completely, and lets the lemon juice work its way through every piece of pear.

Prep and Macerate the Pears

Peel, core, and coarsely dice the pears using a small, sharp knife. A fairly small dice is a good idea here, because the chopped pear doesn’t break down much during the short cooking time.

If the finished jam seems lumpier than you’d like, you can always mash the pieces with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon before filling the jars.

As you work, toss the pear pieces with the lemon juice in a large bowl. This keeps the cut fruit from browning and coats it in acid, which helps draw out the natural pectin (any citrus juice is a good source of this gelling agent). Then sprinkle the granulated sugar over the top and toss again so every piece is evenly coated.

Cover the bowl and tuck it into the refrigerator so the pears can macerate for 12 to 24 hours. There’s nothing to do during this stage but wait, which makes it a fine project to start after dinner and finish the next morning.

Cook the Pear Jam

When you remove the macerated pears from the fridge, you’ll notice a rich, syrupy liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

This syrup is liquid gold, and it’s going to form the base of the pear jam, a sweet cooking liquid that will poach the fruit until it’s tender.

Pour the contents of the bowl into a jam pot or large saucepan with a heavy bottom.

Give yourself more room than you think you need, since this jam has a tendency to foam up as it cooks.

I’ve learned from past canning projects that ample space goes a long way toward preventing unnecessary messes.

Bring the pears and their liquid to a boil over high heat.

Once the jam comes to a boil (it will be quite foamy), reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and approaches the gel stage.

Test the Gel Stage

A reliable way to test the jam is with an instant read culinary thermometer. Gelling occurs at 220 degrees F (105 degrees C) at sea level, and slightly lower at higher elevations, so once the jam holds that temperature you know it’s ready for jars.

No thermometer?

Place a glass plate in the freezer while the jam cooks, then dollop a small spoonful of hot jam onto the chilled surface. If it sets quickly and wrinkles when you nudge it with a fingertip, you’ve hit the gel stage.

You can also watch how the jam falls from a spoon. Lift out a small spoonful, blow on it to cool it quickly, then tip it back into the pot. If it “sheets” off the spoon rather than dripping, the pear jam has gelled.

Once the jam is done, remove the pot from the heat while you get the jars ready.

Pear Jam Variations

Once you’re comfortable with a basic pear jam, it’s a natural base for warm spices and other flavors that pair beautifully with the fruit. Vanilla, cinnamon, fresh ginger, and even a splash of spiced rum all have a place in a pear preserve, and the method stays much the same.

These versions from other canning writers show just how many directions you can take a batch:

• Pear vanilla jam: this recipe calls for vanilla beans, which are split, scraped, and added to the jam during the cooking stage.
• Spiced pear jam: in this recipe, cinnamon and cloves are simmered with pears before canning.
• Rum spiced pear jam: another recipe that uses warm winter spices, this version finishes the jam off with spiced rum before canning.
• Vanilla pear berry jam: a combination of pears and strawberries that would be delicious served on pancakes or waffles.
• Pear ginger jam: a zippy pear jam made with fresh ginger and lemon zest.

Canning Pear Jam

To can, prepare your water bath canner, jars, and lids before the jam finishes cooking, so everything is hot and ready when the fruit reaches the gel stage. This recipe fills 4 to 5 half-pint jars.

Carefully fill the prepared jars with the still hot jam, leaving 1/4 inch headspace at the top. Run a silicone spatula or plastic knife around the inside of each jar to release trapped air bubbles, re-measure the headspace, and add more jam if needed. Wipe the rims and apply two-piece canning lids until fingertip tight.

Process the jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude, then turn off the heat and let the jars sit in the hot water for another 5 minutes before removing them, which helps prevent siphoning.

Set the jars on a towel-lined counter with at least an inch of space between them, and leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours before checking seals.

Setting Notes

No pectin jams firm up as they cool, so don’t judge the set while the jam is still hot in the jar. A properly cooked batch can take 24 to 48 hours to reach its final texture, and pear jam in particular tends toward a soft, spoonable set rather than a stiff one, which suits the delicate flavor of the fruit.

If the jam still hasn’t set after two full days, something likely went wrong at the gel stage, usually pulling the pot off the heat before the jam reached 220 degrees F. A runny batch isn’t lost, and my guide to troubleshooting jelly set walks through how to re-cook it (or you can simply relabel it as pear syrup for pancakes).

Ways to Use Pear Jam

Despite being a relatively unknown preserve, pear jam lends itself to all kinds of uses in the kitchen. Spread it on toast or English muffins with butter, spoon it over pancakes and waffles, or tuck it into sandwiches with nut butter for a lunchbox upgrade that beats anything from the store shelf.

In baking, it’s lovely tucked between the layers of a cake or coffee cake, swirled into muffins and quick breads, or stuffed into French toast. It also makes a memorable filling sandwiched into pear jam donuts with vanilla and cinnamon.

On the savory side, dollop pear jam beside roasted pork, boar, or other gamey meats with a side of spicy mustard, or set it out on a cheese board next to something sharp. And for something different entirely, it shakes into a gin and pear jam smash cocktail.

Storage and Shelf Life

Once the jars have cooled for 12 to 24 hours, check the seals and move any jar that didn’t seal to the refrigerator, planning to use that jam within a week or two. Sealed jars go into the pantry, ideally somewhere cool, dry, and away from direct light.

Properly sealed jars keep their quality for 12 to 18 months on the shelf. Once opened, refrigerate the jar and use the jam within a couple of weeks. As with any home canned food, discard a jar with a bulging or unsealed lid, mold, or an off smell when you open it.

More Ways to Preserve Pears

Jam is just one direction for a heavy pear harvest. On the canning side, old fashioned pear preserves keep the fruit in tender chunks suspended in syrup, pickled pears go sweet and tangy for the holiday table, and pear pie filling puts dessert on the pantry shelf. My collection of fruit canning recipes has plenty more where those came from.

Beyond the canner, pears ferment beautifully into pear cider (hard or sweet) and pear wine, and a dehydrator turns them into pear chips or pear fruit leather for snacking. If a clear amber spread is more your style, pear jelly uses just the juice.

Before you head down to the recipe card, here are answers to the questions readers ask most often about making pear jam at home.

Pear Jam FAQs

If you’re canning your way through a bushel, my full collection of pear canning recipes will keep the canner busy all season.

Pear Canning Recipes

Pear Sauce

Old-Fashioned Pear Preserves

Pear Butter

Jam makers, there are more than 50 jam canning recipes on the site, from berries to stone fruit, plus hundreds more water bath canning recipes beyond that.

Jam Canning Recipes

Caramelized Onion Jam

Blueberry Jam (without Added Pectin)

Old Fashioned Blackberry Jam (No Added Pectin)