“Cardamom Pear” or “Pear Cardamom?”
I’m going with Cardamom Pear as the name of this delightful, economical jelly. On their own, pears have a mild flavor which is greatly enhanced by warm spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and anise. Whichever spice (or spice blend) you select will completely change the flavor profile of the jelly. I’m partial to the exotic, chai-like qualities of cardamom, but feel free to substitute the spice of your choice. Now, go get those pear cores you saved, and let’s get started!
Ingredients (makes 8 half-pints)
30 pear cores
6 cups sugar
6 tablespoons powdered pectin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Directions
Step 1) Place pear cores in a stockpot and just barely cover with water.
Step 2) Bring stockpot to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Step 3) Place a strainer in a slightly smaller bowl and line with a tightly woven, clean towel (or several layers of cheesecloth) as shown. It is important that there is room in the lower bowl, below the bottom of the strainer, for juice to collect!
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Step 4) Carefully transfer the pear cores and juice into the towel-lined strainer. Be careful to avoid overflow… you may need to ladle a few cups of juice out of the lower bowl and into a second bowl (for temporary storage) right away. Be patient, and allow an hour or so for all of the pear juice to collect in the bottom bowl.
Step 5) Combine sugar, pectin, and cardamom. Set aside.
Step 6) Measure 5 cups of pear juice, and bring to a rolling boil in your stockpot.
Step 7) Add sugar mixture to stockpot and, with constant stirring, return to a rolling boil. This may take a few minutes. After a rolling boil has been maintained for one, solid minute, remove jelly from heat.
Step 8) Ladle jelly into sterilized, half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims clean, and top with lids and bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Jars of homemade cardamom pear jam make wonderful gifts. Remember, making jelly is a fun and economical way to make use of fruit cores!
Crowded Earth Kitchen 
Ui! (small squeeking sound) I never though of camdamom and pear, but now that you mention it … oh, the possibilities!
I love cardamom, sometimes to a fault, but the blending of cardamom and pear flavors really worked well. I was also pretty enchanted when I realized I could make jelly out of fruit cores, which otherwise just became compost.
Oh my goodness! What an incredible combination of flavours! Yay for cardamom, yay for pear!