Pineapple is cooked and reduced to a very thick consistency and is usually used to fill up Pineapple Tarts. Fresh or canned pineapple can be used with this recipe.
Trim off the top and bottom of the pineapple. Start trimming the sides and then trim off the "eyes". Slice the pineapple vertically and cut off the core. Cut into little pieces. After trimming it would be roughly about 900-1000 grams. Use a food processor or blender to roughly chopped it.
Optional:
Use a strainer and use the back of the fork to squeeze out the juice. You don't have to squeeze it completely dry. Just some extra excess juice. This helps to cut down on cooking time. You can save the juice for drinking or other use. If you choose to include the juice you just have to account for longer cooking time to cook off the liquid
If using canned pineapple chunks:
If you use canned pineapple chunks, drain off the juice
Keep the juice in the fridge for other use
Use a food processor or blender to just roughly process it
Cooking:
In a large pot, put in the pineapple, sugar, and spices and cook over medium-low heat.
It will splatter quite a bit at first. I partially cover the pot with the lid to contain the mess, but still allow some liquid to evaporate while cooking.
Stir every now and then and cook until they are a bit thicker, which is after about one hour, add the maltose or golden syrup if you choose to use.
This is after about 1 1/2 hour of cooking
Continue to cook until it gets really thick, the whole cooking time may take about 2-2 1/2 hours. Towards the last half an hour, you may want to lower the heat a bit because the jam has thickened considerably and we don't want to "burn" it.
The jam turns darker in color and no longer watery. It feels soft at this point but will harden once cools down. When the jam has reduced to the consistency you like, stir in the vanilla extract if you use. Stir to combine
I get about 440 grams total. The weight may vary a bit, depending on the consistency of the jam
How to store:
Let the jam cools down completely at room temperature. Store in glass container and keep in the refrigerator and it's good up to about 2 weeks and can be kept frozen for 1 month
Video
Notes
If you choose to use canned pineapple, get the pineapple chunks. You will need about 3 cans of pineapple chunks in its juice (no added sugar) roughly about 1 kg. The weight is just the pineapple chunks without the juice that comes with it.