When I was younger, my mom and I used to go strawberry picking and make jars and jars of strawberry jam. Since we haven't done that in a while, and I have been itching to make some sort of jam, I thought a peach jam would be perfect. Fresh Ontario peaches are in season (you know, those peaches that are in those trademark "Ontario Fruit" baskets that are everywhere nowadays), and I wanted to do something with them other than just eat them out of hand (which there is absolutely nothing wrong with).
I woke up actually feeling really excited at the prospect of making this jam. The recipe called for 8 cups of fruit, so I spent a good amount of time prepping for this dish. The recipe was very straight-forward, using ingredients that I already had on hand. The actual cooking-the-fruit-down-to-jam-like-consistency was a very easy process, requiring only occasional stirring.
The result? To be honest, I haven't tried it yet. I'm going to bring a couple of jars with me to school, once I move in, so I can tell you how it tastes then. Until then, make yourself some jam! I can't belive 16 peaches basically boiled down to 7 mini-jars of jam. That's some heavily concentrated peach flavour!
Fresh Peach Jam
2. Cook over medium heat, for about 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. 3. Mash the fruit up a bit, if there are large chunks (leave the little ones...this will give your jam a nice chunky appearance).
4. Check for the right consistency: place a bit of the jam on a plate and put it in the freezer until cool. If the jam is still runny, continue cooking. If the jam is thick and jam-like, the jam is ready.
5. Ladle the jam into sterilized mason jars (to sterilize them, just stick them in a large pot of boiling water and let them boil away), and let the jam cool slightly.
6. Seal the containers with a thick layer of melted wax (make sure it's canning-safe!) and let the wax set before putting the lids on.
7. The jars should keep at room temperature (probably for a while, considering it has been sterilized and sealed).
8. Once open, keep the jam in the fridge.
I woke up actually feeling really excited at the prospect of making this jam. The recipe called for 8 cups of fruit, so I spent a good amount of time prepping for this dish. The recipe was very straight-forward, using ingredients that I already had on hand. The actual cooking-the-fruit-down-to-jam-like-consistency was a very easy process, requiring only occasional stirring.
The result? To be honest, I haven't tried it yet. I'm going to bring a couple of jars with me to school, once I move in, so I can tell you how it tastes then. Until then, make yourself some jam! I can't belive 16 peaches basically boiled down to 7 mini-jars of jam. That's some heavily concentrated peach flavour!
Fresh Peach Jam
- 8 cups peeled, pitted, and slice peaches
- 1 peeled, cubed apple (I used Granny Smith)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp freshly grated citrus zest (I used lemon and grapefruit, because I only had one lemon)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2. Cook over medium heat, for about 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. 3. Mash the fruit up a bit, if there are large chunks (leave the little ones...this will give your jam a nice chunky appearance).
4. Check for the right consistency: place a bit of the jam on a plate and put it in the freezer until cool. If the jam is still runny, continue cooking. If the jam is thick and jam-like, the jam is ready.
5. Ladle the jam into sterilized mason jars (to sterilize them, just stick them in a large pot of boiling water and let them boil away), and let the jam cool slightly.
6. Seal the containers with a thick layer of melted wax (make sure it's canning-safe!) and let the wax set before putting the lids on.
7. The jars should keep at room temperature (probably for a while, considering it has been sterilized and sealed).
8. Once open, keep the jam in the fridge.
