Carrot Cake Jam

1

This is a recipe I got out of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

It is SOOO good, kind of like Apple Butter but LOTS better! I guarantee once you taste it, you won't be able to stop eating it!!

Makes 6 (8 oz. jars)

1 1/2 c. grated, carrots (I used baby carrots and put them in the food processor)
1 1/2 c. chopped, cored and peeled pears (I used 3)
1 3/4 c. Canned crushed pineapple, with juice
3 T. lemon juice
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground cloves
1 package of powdered fruit pectin
6 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1. prepare canner, jars and lids.
2. in a large, saucepan, combine carrots, pears, pineapple with juice, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a boil over high heat, stir frequently. (at this point, I took my hand blender and ground the fruit mixture up to a apple butter consistency, or you could pour the mixture in a blender and then pour it back in the pan.)
3. reduce heat, cover and boil gently for 20 min. stirring occassionally.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stirring frequently.
5. add sugar all at once and return toa full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly for 1 min.
6. remove from heat and skim off foam.
7. ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam.
wipe rim, center lid on jar, screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to a fingertip tight.
8. place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and precess for 10 min.
9.Remove canner lid. Wait 5 min, then remove jars, cool and store.