Peaches are in season -- make peach jam!

 

Peaches are in season once again, and I am thrilled because they are one of my very favorite things. You don't even have to go to a self-pick farm to get a good deal. Watch the sales at the store - I got almost 10 pounds of peaches for a little over $6. It's a great deal considering all the things that you can do with peaches. 

If you have some glass canning jars, definitely consider making peach jam. With 8 peaches this size, I made 7 cups of peach jam--nearly two quarts. In the store, you might be able to buy a pint of peach jam for 3 or 4 dollars. But when peaches are on sale, you can get 8-10 peaches for less than $2, and the box of pectin for the jam is $3-$4. The 5 cups of sugar required are certainly less than 50 cents. All in all, a stunning deal. The box of "Sure-Jell" pectin (which you can buy at your local grocery store in the baking section) comes with a pages of instructions describing the proportions you need for many different kinds of fruit jams and jellies, including peach. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, but you might get the impression that you need a canner or some special machine. That is not so! All you need to do is run your glass jars through the dishwasher so they'll still be hot when you pour in the jam. And then, in a saucepan, boil the caps and rings while you're making the jam. When you've poured the jam up to the top of the jars, fish the lids and rings out of the boiling water with a fork and screw them on--being careful not to burn yourself, of course. And presto! Peach jam for toast, muffins, and scones for the rest of the year! (And it makes a lovely present too.)

When I made the jam this morning, I used my wonderful immersion blender to puree the peaches instead of simply chopping them up. This gives the jam an incredibly smooth texture, which is (I think) easier to spread.

If you don't know what an immersion blender is, I describe mine and what I use it for here.