Sure. I don't see any problem with that idea. You may come up with some great creations. Everything you're working with is high-acid, high-sugar so no safety issues.

How about stirring the apple pie jam into some cream cheese and frosting or using as a filling in apple cake or gingerbread? Annie dollops pear preserves in the center when she makes bran muffins. Apple pie jam would work equally well and bran muffins are less sweet.

I also take sweet preserves and swirl through yogurt; layer with granola or crispy cereal or oatmeal for a meusli or granola parfait.

Plum jelly would work great in an Asian dipping sauce, a sweet and sour or sweet and hot.

Just some additional thoughts. I'm sure there are lots of "salvage" suggestions out there.

Carol

Thanks for the advice- I ended up making 3 batches of sauce in the slow cooker. I added a pint of apple pie jam and a half pint of apple maple jam to one, 4 c of sour cherries in syrup to the other, and 2 c of wild plum jelly plus one C of blueberries to the 3rd. THe jelly made that batch quite runny, I I had to cook it down a bit more (now that I think about it, it's like adding juice, but then will the pomona in it thicken the sauce when it cools?)I think all three are going to be great. None were too sweet and the spices in the jam were perfect! 25 lb down, 86 to go! Good thing they keep well.

I did make a spice cake filled with the apple maple jam last week- frosted with cream cheese frosting. Hubby loved it!

He also used a jar of last years apple peel jelly to glaze a pork butt he was smoking. It gave it a lovely crust.

I was also thinking of finding some bar cookie recipes to try to use up some jam.

There's also the old-fashioned jam cake recipe. Googling it should bring up a ton of recipes.

Carol

This month's issue of Cooking Light has a terrific pear butter recipe. I just tried it, and it's a keeper. Calls for 4 cups of diced pears, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tsp. cardamom, 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger (I used 1/2 tsp. powerdered ginger), 1/4 tsp. salt, & 2 Tblspns. lemon juice. Puree pears, add remaining ingredients, then cook in an open pan 3 hours til thick.

I probably used twice as many pears, & used 1.5 cups of sugar. I just diced the pears, cooked 'em down in a crockpot & sauced them with my stick blender. The cardamom & ginger add wonderful flavor.

Wonderful,I will try that one too, but maybe next year, depending on how sick I get of peeling pears. The cardamom sounds interesting. I've noticed that most of the pear and ginger recipes I tried this year were way too gingery for me. Maybe it was just strong ginger, or they will mellow more with time. I think I will try the powdered stuff for this one too. Thanks

Hi, I have made this recipe many times. It is really yummy, If you don't have green grapes you can just add extra sugar. The grapes help it thicken a little as well as add natural sweetness. Although this is a topping not a jam, if you want it jamlike just add some Pomona pectin. This is a modification of the cinnamon apple ice cream topping recipe I got here from Annie or Carol or Linda Lou or ? My friends love it and request it as gifts. Also good on pancakes or even straight up although the cinnamon is a little strong then.

Marcia

Cinnamon Pear Ice Cream Topping 5/19/05
~10 c roughly diced, peeled, Bartlett pears
1.5 c blender-ized cooked down green grapes (started with about half that amount and cooked the water out)
1.3 c sugar
3 Tbs lemon juice
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

Cooked pears with grape goo and cinnamon, while heating added sugar to taste. Put into 5 p sterile jars, processed for :10 1/4 inch headspace in jars.
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I also made some caramel pear topping last month, but I haven't really tried it since I canned it, so can't be sure how it is. I made the caramel part just by heating white sugar and stirring for a long time. Warning, it seized up hard in the bowl I had put it in while I heated the pears, I had to reheat it in the microwave. Hot caramel is really hot so be careful! Yes, that means I burned my finger.

Flatlander, I didn't peel the pears before I cooked them. The stick blender did a wonderful job of pureeing, so you don't notice the peels. Leaving the peels probably boosts the fiber amount, even if pureed finely -- that makes the pear butter healthier for you.