Apple & Pear Cinnamon Jam

Before leaving Malaysia, I did a couple of home-mades for my v nice colleagues who hae become such dear friends. One of them is a Apple & Pear Cinnamon Jam. I first tried making home-made jam after returning from Europe last year, enamored with all the yummy jam cooked by the B&B owners. They were so fragrant without being sickly sweet as alot of jams tend to be. My first attempt was strawberry which was fragrant but a tad too sweet as well. I reduced the sugar but after reading up on jam-making, I did not reduce dramatically since sugar is one of the key ingredients in setting the jam.

This time I thought of using apples which has high pectin content already, so I can cut the sugar further, presumably.. and also, who doesn't like apple cinnamon? I love apple pies with a generous dose of cinnamon. I love my coffee with cinnamon. I love cinnamon bread rolls. I love cinnamon! Added pear to the mixture to make it sound a little less boring though.. haha! not sure if it makes a large impact to the taste though. Anyway, the overall verdict was not bad. It was sweet but not overly so and infused subtly (OK...not so since I love it and added a fair bit) of cinnamon!

Recipe here:

5 large ripe pears (I used the green, bell-shaped pears). Should be a little soft when pressed.
5 large apples (used Fuji red apples)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
2 teaspoons gelatin powder
3 cups of finegrained sugar

Method:
1. Peel, core, dice apples & pears, soaking them in water as u cut to prevent browning.
2. Drain and mix the pear/apples/ lemon juice in a big sturdy pot
3. Bring to boil and simmer until the fruits are soft, ard 30 minutes
4. Mash the fruit either with masher or fruit processor. I mashed them slightly only to retain some chunks and give bite to the jam.
5. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon and gelatin, stir to dissolve
6. Add all the sugar, bring to boil. Simmer for around 10 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and ladle into clean & sterilised jars. Cool to room temperature, cap and refrigerate.

The above makes 8 small jars. I like the little pieces of fruit in the jam, you can bite into them and they melt easily in the mouth. Goes well with chunky bread or plain crackers!

Enjoy!