Hi there! I missed you over the long weekend. I had a lovely time at a good friends wedding. I visited Trader Joe’s for the first time to stock up on nut and seed butters. I ate and drank some old and new favorites from Pittsburgh. Now I’m back. 
I would not say I’m refreshed. It’s more like exhausted from a long weekend of festivities with the old college buddies. But boy was it a good time.
I have so much to tell all of you! My kitchen and garden adventures and concoctions are piling up in little dated folders on my desktop! I know you are all dying to know what I’ve been up to. And apparently it’s going to be raining buckets all. week. long. SO, I’m declaring a theme week. It’s just three days, but it’s going to be fun!
So that I stay on track, I will state my intentions to you. Please hold me accountable.
Tuesday: Peach Jam
Wednesday: Mango Salsa
Thursday: Freezer Pesto
So let’s get this party started!
I made this jam about 2 weeks ago and I made it again tonight. It’s that easy!
I’m discovering quickly that the most difficult part of canning (for me) is the timing. For sanitation it’s important to put hot products in hot jars and then all into hot water. I use my dishwasher to initially sanitize the jars. The ability for my dishwasher to do this was a must when we were in the market for a dishwasher a little while back. However, it takes forever!
Tonight I started the dishwasher, made dinner, ate dinner, prepped all parts of the canning process, cleaned up the kitchen, made can labels, and the dishwasher was still not done! It really takes a long time for it to kick up the heat! One of these days I’ll time it exactly…or dig out the manual to look it up!
So this is very similar to the strawberry jam I made at the beginning of the summer. Just a few slight differences that I’ll point out as we go.
1. Peel, pit and cut 4 1/2 cups of juicy peaches (less than strawberry jam)
2. Mix with the juice of a lemon
3. Measure 3 cups sugar (also less than strawbs)
4. Pull out 1/4 cup sugar and mix with less sugar needed pectin
5. Mix lemon, peaches, and pectin/sugar mixture; it will be juicy and wonderful at this point
6. Heat to a rolling boil
7. Add remaining sugar, stir, and bring back to a boil for 1 minute; at this point I seriously could drink this nectary mixture (peaches foam way less than strawberries and I didn’t think skimming was necessary)
8. Ladle into sanitized hot jars; a funnel works wonders
9. Leave 1/8 inch head space
10. Wipe the rims and threads of the jars and place warm lids and rings on the jars; a magnet is a great tool for this
11. Screw the ring to finger tight
12. Process, completely covered, in boiling water for 10 minutes, starting the time when the water returns to a boil
While I wait for my jars to process I make cute little labels. Be sure to include the date!
After allowing your jam to cool for about an hour, check your lids. If you press and they don’t pop; success.
Since my first batch I’ve been enjoying the peachy delight on toast with cream cheese. Oo la la. So good! I think I still like the taste of strawberry better, but peach is coming in a close second now. Of course it’s all much better than store bought!
What’s your favorite jam?
Spoonful Of Sass 