Hey Y'all!
A few weeks ago we took both Max and Zoey to Camp Bow Wow for the weekend, while we went out for a weekend of relaxation for James Birthday. On the way back from dropping them off, I decided to stop at a little farm stand on the side of the road (mainly because I was hungry. . .) There, I found the cutest box of peaches I think I have ever seen and within minutes was back on the road, eating my peach and headed home to pack for the weekend getaway.
The weekend came and went and so did the following week. That following weekend I found myself standing in front the fridge with the doors wide open, staring into deep space secretly hoping that before my very eyes, a snack would appear already made and ready to eat when the peaches caught my eyes! Oh DANG! I had totally forgot about my cute peaches from the weekend before and right there had this wonderful idea of making peach jam for the fall!
Having made Peach Jam before I knew that I needed to rethink my strategy, because it didnt turn out so great last time. However, this time. . . its so good, I would eat it off of a boot!
Materials Needed:
2 Stock Pots (IE Big Soup Pots)
7-8 Cans w/ lids
18-20 Peaches
3.5 lbs of Sugar
Vanilla
Cinammon
Cloves
1 squeezed lemon
Prepping the Peaches:
1. To start, you will want to take a stock pot filled with water and bring it to a boil. Once the water is boiling drop 4-5 peaches in at a time for aprox 1-3 min.
2. While your peaches are boiling you will want to take a large bowl and fill it with ice water. As soon as the peaches have hit the 1-3 min mark in the boiling water, take a slotted spoon and dunk those puppies into the ice bath for 1-3 min.
3. Once the peaches have cooled enough to handle all you do is push your finger on the skin and it falls right off! Keep the process going until you have 18-20 naked peaches
4. Now take your peaches and cut them into
small chunks making sure to remove the pit and any tough remaining red peach that was up against the pit. Put your cut peaches in the second stock pot.
Making the Jam:
1. Take your stock pot with the cut peaches and place it on the stove over high heat and add in your 3.5 lbs of sugar your vanilla (8 cap fulls), cinnamon ( 1/2-3/4 cap full) and cloves ( 3/4 cap full). Each batch of peaches is so different so use what measurements work for you and trust your taste buds. The measurements listed is what I used and work for me and my family :)
2. Once your mixture is starting to simmer add in the squeezed lemon juice. Let boil for 10 min or so
3. Once you have let the mixture boil for a bit you will start to see a foam form on top of the pot. You will want to remove as much as you can by taking a spoon and skimming it off the top. If you dont, you will end up with cloudy uninstagramable jam and well we can't have that can we?!? It takes all of 2 minutes to do.
4. Reduce your heat to a medium low heat where the mixture has tiny bubbles on top to thicken for 30 min or so. You will know your jam is done when you go to stir and it mixture sticks to the back of your spoon without sliding off. You can also take a chilled plate and put a small amount on the cold plate to see if it thickens to your preferred consistency.
5. Once you hit this phase its time to get ready to can! Remove the pot from the heat and set aside. Do not allow the mixture to cool otherwise you will not seal the jars properly.
Canning the Jam:
1. Take the first stock pot you used and fill with fresh clean water and bring to a boil on the stove.
2. Take 3-4 jars at a time and submerse them in the boiling water for 2-3 min, lids and rings go in too!
3. Carefully take tongs and dump the water out of each jar and set on the counter to begin canning.
4. Take your hot jam mixture that you set aside a few moments ago and scoop into the hot jars leaving 1/2 inch at the top. Put the lids on and start the next batch of 3-4 cans in the water.
5. Once all of the cans have been filled with jam and have lids on tightly. Take 3-4 jars at a time and place them back into the boiling water for 10-30 min for each batch to seal.
6. Take the jars out of the boiling water to cool on the counter. If you have done it correctly, you will be rewarded with a indented lid (IE does not make a sound or move when you push on it) which signals that it has been sealed correctly. It may take up to 1 hr to cool and to see if it has sealed correctly, your lids may or may not produce a "POP" sound. If you jar does not have an indent on the lid, just place this in your fridge and use tomorrow morning :)
* Store properly sealed Jam in a cool dark place like a pantry and Enjoy!
How did your Jam turn out? Any adjustment you made to make it better? I would love to hear your thoughts and any other canning tips that you have!
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