Pear and vanilla jam recipe

Prepare the jars by washing thoroughly in hot, soapy water.

Rinse, drain and then put in a warm oven at 50C until the jam is ready for jarring.

Score down each vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds (keep the pods) and mix with 100ml of the lemon juice, whisking until the vanilla seeds are evenly dispersed.

Put 570ml water, the pears, lemon juice mixed with the vanilla seeds, and vanilla pods in a heavy-based saucepan and cook on a low heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes.

Add the apples and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Add the sugar and increase the temperature until you have a fast boil. Cook for 35 minutes, stirring very frequently to stop it catching.

Add the rest of the lemon juice, and cook for 5 minutes or until the jam reaches 104C on a sugar thermometer.

When the jam reaches temperature it will appear thick and glossy. Tip out of the pan into a heatproof bowl or container.

Leave to stand for 10 minutes to allow the fruit to distribute.

Ladle the jam into a measuring jug, before filling and lidding each jar.