Peach Spice Jam
Peach Season is in full swing here in Kentucky. The thing about peaches is how quickly they ripen and how quickly they spoil.
Once the peaches are “on” you better get them sold, canned, or eaten……. FAST. Peaches do not store well. For this reason, now is a great time to head to your local farmers market, roadside market, or fruit stand and buy peaches. The folks who sell peaches know that they have to act fast. If they don’t sell them, the peaches will be pig food in 3 days.
This makes for great deals. Just ask for a bushel of ‘seconds.’ You’ll probably get them for next to nothing. Don’t worry about the brown spots. The bruised peaches make the best jelly.
One of my favorite things to do with peaches is make Peach Spice Jam.
Here I go again with the savory jellies. Trust me, this one’s a slam dunk.
Peach jelly is so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sweet. I know about these things.
We bought a farm with 190 peach trees on it. Yes, that’s one hundred and ninety peach trees. It is not a typo.
When it comes to peaches, I’m the guru.
I have made hundreds of peach concoctions. There is only so much you can do with peaches, but I’m pretty sure I have done them all.
Remember Bubba Gump Shrimp? The list of shrimp possibilities, well, I am the Bubba-Gump of Peaches. Here’s some of the peach-infused delicacies found at our place (especially in August):
- Peaches
- Canned Peaches
- Peach Jelly
- Peach Jam
- Peach Preserves
- Peach Butter
- Peach Bread
- Peach Daiquiris
- Peach Smoothies
- Peach Cobbler
- Peach Coffee Cake
- Peach Pie
- Peach Syrup
- Peach Chutney
- Peach Ice Cream
I’m sure there’s more, but I think you’re getting the picture.
Peaches are so sweet. This is one thing that is wonderful about them. When you add 7 cups of sugar, this also makes an incredibly sweet jelly.
To cut the sweetness a bit I toss in some spices. They just give it a little more interest and flavor instead of just SWEET.
Start with some fresh, soft, ripe peaches. It’s OK of there are bruises or brown spots. Mamaw has always told me that the bruised ones make the sweetest jellies.
You’re going to have to get the peels off. You have 2 choices. If you are only doing one batch, you can just grab your paring knife and start peeling. If you are making 5 batches go grab some children and let them help you blanch the peaches. To see how to blanch fruits (or vegetables) in no time go here.
After your peaches are peel free, chop them into little pieces.
For this recipe (one batch) you need a quart of diced peaches. I just cram all the pieces into a quart jar as I am chopping them & when the jar is full, I’m done.
Here’s the ingredients:
- Peaches (of course)
- Sugar (I use cane sugar)
- Lemon Juice
- Nutmeg & Cinnamon
- Liquid Fruit Pectin
We must pause here and discuss the importance of using LIQUID Pectin, not the powdered stuff. Ugh. Powdered pectin has its place, but not in this recipe. To read all about how powdered pectin has been ruining my jellies go here.
Now, let’s make the jelly!
- Pour your diced peaches into a large sauce-pot & add lemon juice
- Add Sugar
- Stir in Cinnamon & Nutmeg
- Bring to a boil, stir in Liquid Fruit Pectin
- Bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute & remove from heat
Skim off foam.
Ladle hot jam into hot jars. Adjust lids. Process in boiling hot-water bath 10 minutes. For detailed step by step instructions on the hot-water bath canning process go here.
There is nothing like this deep in winter when snow is everywhere. Sweet, spicy, savory, yum!
Homemade Peach Spice Jam
- 1 Quart Peaches
- 7 1/2 Cups Sugar (I use cane sugar)
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
- 1 Pouch Liquid Pectin
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1 Tsp Nutmeg
Peel and dice 1 quart peaches. Combine fruit, sugar, spices and lemon juice in a large sauce-pot. Stir while bringing slowly to boil. Stir in liquid pectin. Return to boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars. Leave 1/4 inch head-space. Adjust lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling hot-water bath.
For detailed step-by-step instructions on how to process cans in a hot-water bath go here.
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Canning, Canning, Canning! Yea!
XO,
Candi
