I realize that peach season is entirely done in many parts of the country, but I have two more peach recipes I want to get up before the year is out, if for no other reason that I want them to be here for you next year (and let’s face it, if I try and hold them for next summer, chances are good that I’ll forget).
The first is a basic, honey sweetened peach jam. I went looking for this recipe on the blog this summer, certain down to my toes that I’d posted this one previously. Amazingly, it didn’t exist on the blog or in any of my books.
A few notes before the recipe. I let my peaches macerate with the honey a little too long (more than 48 hours in the fridge), and they ended up browning a bit on the edges. I remedied that my pureeing the peaches at the end of cooking. However, I’ve written the recipe with instructions for you to mash rather than puree. You can do either, but if you feel like the picture above looks different than your batch, this may be the reason.
I only tested this recipe with Pomona’s Pectin. It may work with other low and no sugar pectins, but I’ve not tried them and cannot advise on how to make those swaps.
Finally, save the fancy raw honeys for cheese plates, fruit salads, and peanut butter toast. When cooking or baking, good quality pasteurized honeys are best (because they will be exposed to high heat and will lose all the magic that comes with their raw state).
Honey Sweetened Peach Jam
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 pounds yellow peaches pitted, peeled, and diced
- 2 cups honey divided
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon calcium water
- 1 tablespoon Pomona's Pectin
Instructions
- Prepare a boiling water bath canner and enough jars to hold 4 pints.
- In a low, wide, non-reactive pot, combine the prepared peaches, 1 1/2 cups honey, lemon juice, and the calcium water. Stir to combine and let the peaches sit until the honey starts to dissolve and the peaches are juicy.
- Set pot over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook at a vigorous boil for 20 to 25 minutes, until the volume has reduced by at least one-third. Stir regularly.
- Work the pectin into the remaining honey and stir one spoonful of the pectin-spiked honey at a time into the cooking jam.
- Once all the pectin-spiked honey as been stirred into the fruit, return the contents of the pot to an active boil and cook for an additional 2 minutes, all the while looking for signs of thickening (it should be pretty clear as Pomona's pectin sets quickly). Once you see some thickening, remove the pot from the heat.
- Funnel the jam into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- When the time is up, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortably handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
