Lovely fall pears at their peak are delicious raw, but maybe try preserving this fall treat as a delicious spread over your next sourdough bread with cottage cheese … or simply the spread over a piece of toasted bread. It’s delicious and according to our young taste testers smells and taste a little like Christmas.

1. Sterilize your jars and lids.

2. Peal & core pears, cut them in small cubes and put them in your saucepan, adding lemon juice as you go so the pears don’t go brown.

3. Using a small sharp knife, split the vanilla bean in half lengthways. Use the tip of the knife to scrape out the seeds and add to the pears (you can also put in the halved bean)

4. Lastly add the sugar, pectin and cinnamon sticks and bring it all to a boil.

5. Boil for about 4-5 minutes, remove from heat and then remove the cinnamon sticks (and vanilla bean if you used it).

6. Puree with a puree wand to get a smooth texture and quickly bring it all back to a boil again.

7. Fill hot into prepared jam jars, close lid tightly and turn upside down onto the lid for about 10-15min to make sure it’s sealed shut.

TIP: It will store for a few months, if you can stop eating it ;) It also makes a wonderful Thanksgiving gift, if you would like to share it!