Pear Jam ~ Microwave Version

Srivalli's two week long blogging marathon # 7 starts today and the theme choices for the participants this time are going to be
1. Crunchy Snacks for Kids
2. Cooking from a cookbook
3. Cooking from the backpack
4. Microwave Cooking
5. Regional Specials
6. Combo Meals
7. No Butter Bakes

That means the participating bloggers have to select a theme from above and cook for a week based on it. For this week's marathon, I chose microwave cooking and so for the next seven days, you are going to see microwave based recipes here. Check what the other marathoners are cooking today. 
On the first day, here is a simple and quick yet yummy pear jam prepared in the microwave. Actually this recipe was in my drafts for over three years now since I wasn't happy with the initial pictures I took and later forgot to update it.  

Preparing jam using bread machine:
Ingredients:
Pears - 2 (1 cup mashed)
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp
Pectin - 1/2 packet (up to 1 oz)

I usually go with D'anjou pears because they are just sweet with out the awful smell. (I dislike Bartlett pears for their smell.) I prepared the jam for the first time in my Zojirushi bread machine following their cooking manual. Now with the bread machine, it is pretty simple. You add all the ingredients to the baking container and it does the job for you. And if you are not satisfied with the bread maker's jam consistency and think that the jam has to be thicker, then put the jam into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave it for 2 -5 minutes depending upon the desired consistency. The jam thickens when cooled / refrigerated and so, it is usually wise to stop micro waving it when you are almost there. After refrigeration, if the jam becomes thicker and is not spreadable, warm the jam in MW for a minute. It should work. Also, you can skip pectin from this recipe all together. It takes longer in bread machine to prepare jam though it is easier. I don't personally prefer wasting that much of power over a cup of jam. Here is the recipe anyway.
Peel the pears and mash them coarsely with a fork or in a blender.  Add all the ingredients to the baking pan and cook selecting the 'jam course' or follow the instructions.

Jam preparation in microwave:
I usually prepare jams in small quantities and prefer using a microwave. Last week, I prepared pear jam in microwave in two batches and this is how I did it.

Method 1:

Ingredients:
1 cup pear
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pectin
6 Tbsp sugar

Peel and coarsely mash the pears with a fork. Add all the ingredients to a microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave, stirring in between. Stop before you think that you have reached the desired consistency since it thickens after cooling. It usually takes me around 10 - 12 minutes to prepare jam in my microwave with the above quantity. Let cool and refrigerate the jam.

Method 2 :
For the other batch, I decided to puree the fruit and had about 4 cups of pureed pears. I added about 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp pectin, 6 cloves and a tsp of lemon juice to it. I microwaved it till the desired consistency was reached. The jam consistency would be softer when the fruit is over ripened and pureed. I personally prefer not to puree the fruit while preparing jams. Cool, discard the cloves and refrigerate the jam prepared.

Note:
Pectin is a type of sugar contained in fruits that jellifies jam (adds thickness). Add pectin as part of the ingredients if a softer jam is not preferred but a thicker version.

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