I love making homemade jams and preserves and this recipe is my new favorite! Fall is the season of new fruits and when I found these beautiful bright red prickly pears in my local supermarket, I knew I would be taking them home with me to make lots of jam for the holidays. I feel like Joey on Friends…”Remember when your mom used to drop you off at the movies with a jar of jam and a spoon?” I love that moment! This jam is a bit too spicy for me to eat on it’s own with just a spoon but the sweetness from the pears, pomegranate juice, semi-sweet red wine and honey make this a great condiment for savory and sweet dishes.
Prickly Pear Jam
makes 1 cup
2 cups chopped prickly pear
6 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
1/4 cup semi-sweet red wine
1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp fruit pectin
I combined the chopped prickly pear, chopped jalapeño, pomegranate juice, wine and lemon juice in a medium pot. I heated the mixture over medium-high heat until boiling then lowered the temperature to medium-low and simmered for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, there was still liquid in the pot and the prickly pear and jalapeño had broken down in the sauce. I added the honey and stirred to combine. I added the fruit pectin, raised the temperature to high and boiled the mixture for 1 minute, stirring continuously. I removed the pot from the stove and set it aside for 30 minutes to cool. I transferred the jam to a clean jar and stored in the fridge. You can store this jam in the fridge for up to 1 month.
At this point, you can use this jam for basically anything! It would taste incredible smothered on lamb chops, chicken wings or even poured over vanilla bean ice cream. I cooked up some lamb bacon in the oven at 400 degrees F. for 12 minutes then spooned the jam on to the hot and crunchy bacon. Perfection!
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