Fresh pineapple is cooked and reduced to a very thick consistency and usually used to fill up Pineapple Tarts.
Pineapples were on sale few weeks ago and with 4 pineapples at home, I thought I would made a compote or what we usually selai nenas in Indonesia. They were easy to make but just need about one hour to get it to a thick consistency to be used in Kue Nastar (Pineapple Tarts) 😉
How do you pick a pineapple?
To be honest, I’m not an expert either. Usually you would be able to smell a nice pineapple aroma at its base. A stranger told me before that I should be albe to tug on one of the inner leaves. Those are the signs that the pineapple is ready.
Look at how much juice was squeezed out. This helps to reduce cooking time. All the cooking does is caramelizing the sugar to make it turn dark brown and to evaporate the liquid. My two kids were fighting for the juice!
The amount of juice that I squeezed out from the pineapple puree
The thickness of the pineapple jam is necessary when you are going to use it to make Kue Nastar. The jam is usually rolled into a ball and then wrapped with the dough.
After 30 minutes of cooking
After almost 45 minutes of cooking
How To Make Pineapple Jam for Pineapple Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 large pineapple about 650 grams
- 90 gr sugar or less if you prefer
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp cloves powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- 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. Use a blender to roughly chopped it. Use a strainer and use the back of the fork to squeeze out the juice. This helps to cut down on cooking time. You can save the juice for drinking or other use
- In a large pot, put in the chopped pineapple, sugar, and spices and cook over low-medium heat. Cook until they are dry, about 45 minutes. Store in glass container and let it cool down and store in refrigerator and it's good up to about 2 weeks and can be kept frozen for 1 month
Video
Notes
Check out this melt-in-the-mouth Kue Nastar (Pineapple Tarts) recipe and video tutorial. It’s a must for Chinese New Year.
8 comments
Hi! Could I ask you if there is a difference if I use a food processor or a blender to churn it? Or both will work? Thanks!
Hi Lilian, both should work 🙂
Btw, is there any reason to add additional sugar? I think the pineapple itself is sweet enough. What do you think omitting the sugar completely?
Hi Jos, the sugar caramelizes and makes the jam sticky and firm and suitable to use as a filling in tarts, etc. It’s hard to achieve this consistency without any sugar at all.
I’m lazy..can I make this using canned pineapple chunk?
Yes you can. In fact, I’m thinking of doing so myself last week, but I haven’t gotten any canned pineapple yet. I’m lazy to cut the pineapple too ha.ha..! It should work too!
Seems easy enough! Now I won’t feel as intimidated:) I have heard a lot about the traditional pineapple tarts served around Chinese New Year and that you pretty much cannot celebrate without them. But as you point out, this jam can have multiple creative applications, I can see it pair well with certain cheeses and IPAs (lol), as well as be used as ingredient to various sauces for chicken or pork. Or like a glaze for grilled meat. Thank you for sharing how to make it!
I know you are going to work that IPAs wonder into anything 😉 and you are good at that!