Pumpkin Jam / Doce de Abóbora
One of my favorite things about the fall season is the arrival of pumpkins. I personally enjoy them cooked in so many different ways. I love it in my soups, roasted in the oven and baked into desserts. But the one recipe that is such a special treat and is not as common is the pumpkin jam.
Growing up, my mom would make jam out of almost every fruit and sometimes vegetables… There really isn’t much you can’t make into a jam or compote. The memories I have of enjoying freshly made jam on warm buttered bread are something that just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
- Yield: 5 mason jars 1x
- Category: Desserts
Ingredients
2 pounds of chopped pumpkin
2 pounds of granulated sugar
Juice of 4-5 oranges, enough to fill 1 cup
1–2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of salt
Instructions
Cut, peel, de-seed, and chop the pumpkin into small pieces. (The smaller the pieces the faster it will break apart in the sugar.)
In a heavy bottom pan over medium heat add the pumpkin, sugar, salt, orange juice, cinnamon sticks and vanilla. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Then lower the temperature and let it simmer. Keep stirring the pot every few minutes until the jam starts to thicken in consistency, which is about 45-60 minutes. You don’t want to overcook it. Since the jam will harden as it cools.
Last but not least, spoon into sterilized mason jars. Let it cool and store the jars in the refrigerator. Since this is all natural with no preservatives, it should keep for two months.
This recipe yielded 5, 8oz mason jars
Notes
Want to make more jam? Read my how-to Recipe for Blackberry Jam!
On a side note: The other great thing about making this recipe is that it also makes a wonderful hostess gift too!
could canned pumpkin be used in this recipe?
Yes, you can absolutely substitute with canned pumpkin.