Dan and Michele Gross

Local pears are here and while they are beautiful it is also a signal that summer's bounty is drawing to a close. I made these into one of my favorite jams and I will share the easy recipe

Pear Vanilla Freezer Jam

• 4 cups coarsely chopped and peeled Bartlett Pears
• 1 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup plus 2 TBL fresh lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean---split lengthwise
• 1 box Sure-Jell
• 4 cups sugar

Place pears in food processor and pulse till finely chopped. Place pears, lemon juice, lemon zest and scraped vanilla bean(instructions at end) in saucepan. Stir in pectin and bring to boil. Stir in sugar and cook 2 mins(stirring constantly till sugar dissolves.) Remove from heat. Place in jars and refrigerate 1 jar and freeze the rest. IF YOU AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH VANILLA BEANS--they are kind of pricey and can be found where the vanilla extract is. But the price splurge is worth it because they are potent and add a delicious flavor. To prepare, take a sharp knife and slit lengthwise. Scrape the very dark brown minuscule, pasty looking seeds out. I use the edge of a knife. DISCLAIMER---the jam will have tiny seed particles dispersed throughout but these are what makes this jam so delicious!! Strangely enough, as I was typing this recipe, I noticed I followed the recipe differently than as written. As written, the recipe says to add the vanilla bean to the saucepan---cook and THEN scrape the seeds into the Jam. That sounds a little sticky and hot to the touch---but use your own judgement. And ENJOY!! To give proper credit--I should add that I found this recipe several years ago in Country Living magazine