• Prepare canner, jars, and lids. Wash your jars and lids. Sterilize your jars in a large pot filled with water. Bring the water to almost a simmer over medium heat. Keep the jars in the simmering water until you are ready to fill them. Use a jar lifter to remove them from the water when you are ready to fill them, dumping the hot water back into the pot when you remove each jar from the water. Right before you are ready to can, put your lids in a small pot or bowl with hot, but not boiling water. Put some additional white vinegar in a small bowl, alongside a clean washcloth or paper towel. Keep the water in your canning pot at a simmer while you fill your jars. See The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving for additional guidance
• Place a small plate in your freezer
• Wash, peel, and core the pears. Either dice them or crush them. I used a potato masher to slightly crush the pears. You are not looking for a puree.
• Measure out 3 cups (1500 ml) of crushed pears.
• In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan or jam pan, combine pears, dried cranberries, apple juice, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.
• Over medium-high heat, bring the pear mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.
• While your jam is cooking, prepare your work surface. On a clean cloth, lay out your jar lifter, bubble remover/lid lifter, funnel, bowl for lids in hot water, a bowl of vinegar, and clean cloth.
• Once your jam is boiling, cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Decrease the heat if the jam starts to stick to the sides.
• Test for doneness at the 10-minute mark.

To Test For Doneness

• Put a small amount of jam on the cold plate and return it back to the freezer for 3-4 minutes.
• If when you push it with your finger the jam wrinkles a bit it is done.
• If it doesn't wrinkle, continue to cook checking for gel state every minute.
• Alternately, you could use a sugar thermometer. Gel state is typically reached at 217° - 222°.
• Once the gel state has been reached, skim off any foam and water bath process your jam.

To Water Bath Process

• Ladle jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace (1/2" for Weck Jars)
• Remove air bubbles and wipe rims with white vinegar.
• Center lid on the top of the jar (or glass lid with a gasket if using Weck Jars)
• Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight.
• Place jars in a canner or large stockpot, making sure they are completely covered with water by 2".
• Cover the pot and bring to a boil
• Boil for 10 minutes
• After the 10-minutes processing time, turn the heat off, remove the lid and let sit for 5 minutes
• Carefully remove jars with jar lifter and place them on a rack where they can be undisturbed for 24 hours.
• Refrigerate any unsealed jars.

Notes

• This recipe assumes some knowledge of proper and safe canning techniques. Please see the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving for guidance.

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