Peach Honey Jam

What’s the best way to preserve summer? In a jar, of course! When I asked
for peach recipes, most people replied I should make jam. I’m not a big jam
eater, but I figured I would make a small jar for myself and give the rest
to my parents.



At the farm, they have a store where you can buy already-picked produce and
related food items, such as jams and breads. One item they had to sample
was a peach honey jam. I really enjoyed it, so I decided that’s the type of
jam I wanted to make. I couldn’t find a recipe for peach honey jam, but I
read you could sub out some sugar for the honey, as long as you don’t put
too much in. Since I cut the recipe in half, 1/4 cup of honey was plenty.
No more, no less.

I took it to work so I could make breakfast there (one perk of working in
an office environment). I shared with a few coworkers, who seemed to really
enjoy it.



I’m not perfect when it comes to canning, so I suggest you research a bit.
I had one out of two seals pop on me. That just means although the jam was
still edible, you needed to refrigerate it so bacteria doesn’t grow. What I
can tell you is as long as the jars are not cracked, you can get them cheap
at local flea markets. It’s the lids and bands that you need to keep
replacing, which can be found at your local store, including Wal Mart.

Since I ran out between making it and writing this post, I made another batch of jam last night. Instead of honey, I added some cardamom pods (perhaps one pod too many). I always forget I have ground CORIANDER, not cardamom, so at the last minute, I had to hurry up and break and grind some pods. It's hard to taste as you cook jam because it's so darn hot, but if you put a bit on a plate from the freezer and let it cool, you can taste that way. You can experiment with other spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, whatever you're in the mood for. Be sure to tell me in the comments your favorite jam combination!

Be sure to check out my guide on how to peel peaches.


Peach Honey Jam


1 quart peaches (I guessed it to be around one pound), peeled, pitted, diced, and crushed
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup honey

Before making the jam, bring a giant pot of water to a rolling boil. This will be used to sterilize your jars. Boil the jar, lid, and band for at least 10 minutes. Let dry before filling. Do not touch the rim, lid, band, etc so you don't risk contaminating them. Once all of the jars are sterilized, dump the water. Rinse out the pan and refill.

Also, put a small plate in the freezer. This will be used to test the thickness of the jam later.

Combine peaches and water in a large saucepan. Cook gently 10 minutes. Add sugar and honey; slowly bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick, about 15 minutes. Be careful! When you stir, it may want to splash. If you get hit, just run your hand until cold water. Also, do not leave your pot unattended. Mine tended to boil up, so I had to keep stirring to stop it from boiling over. When in doubt, wear an oven mitt.

Meanwhile, bring the giant pot of water back to a boil. You will use this to finish the sealing process.

After 15 minutes, take the plate out from the freezer. Place a small spoonful on the plate and tilt. If it is too runny, cook another 5 minutes. I found that mine didn't thicken up nicely; however, when I stored the jam in the fridge after opening, the jam did become a nice consistency. I wouldn't cook it much longer than 20 minutes because the jam will start to burn on the bottom.

When the jam is ready, grab a ladle and fill each jar up to the rim. Wipe off the opening with a dry, clean paper towel. Secure lid and rim. Submerge each jar into boiling water for 15 minutes to finish sealing. I've laid my jars on their side during boiling since standing them up doesn't completely submerge them.

Let dry and cool for 18-24 hours. The seal is set if you push down on the top and nothing pops back. If a seal is broken, store in the refrigerator.

Hard to say how much this makes, but I filled up a medium and small jar. Think small batch.

Source: Adapted from Ball Blue Book, 1969 page 79
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Can't get enough peaches? Check out these past posts:

Chocolate Peach Cheesecake
Peach Crumb Cake

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

Summer - a great time to buy or pick your own fresh produce. There is a farm I've been visiting for the past few years to pick berries. In June, they have strawberries. In July, they have black raspberries. Because I moved away and no longer live in the area, I was really hoping the raspberries would be ready for the Fourth of July weekend. I missed strawberries because I came home a weekend too early. Fortunately, it was the first weekend to berry pick, so I didn't miss it. Hooray!



I knew I was going to make something raspberry for our mini family cookout. Originally, I was going to do an apricot and berry pie. Apricots were moldy. Cupcakes? The gas pilot on my parent's oven only works when it wants to. Cheesecake parfaits? Works for me. Besides, who really wants to turn on the oven in the summer?



The recipe called for lemon curd. However, I made homemade raspberry curd. It also calls for cookie crumbs in the bottom. I didn't have any, so I thought about graham crackers. But wouldn't they get soggy because you chill the parfaits overnight? Plus I'm not a fan of crust. I was going to sprinkle some on top before serving, but I forgot. It didn't help that I was serving these right before making the two-hour trip back to my place before the holiday traffic.



If any of you have made homemade cheesecake, you know it takes some time. Time to beat. Time to cook. Time to set. Time to chill. These parfaits cut down on all that time by using sweetened condensed milk. At first I was concerned because just like any passionate baker, I had a taste of the batter. It didn't taste that great, so I was worried it wouldn't turn out like it should. Well I followed the recipe as directed and knew the flavor would develop more overnight, so I went with it. Hopefully the raspberry curd would cover it up if it wasn't good.



Letting it sit made a huge difference. The texture turned into the thick, smooth cheesecake filling that you'd expect, much better than the batter I tasted. Pair that with the layer of raspberry curd, and you have yourself a nice cool summer treat.

Berry Cheesecake Parfait

Cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sour cream
4 Tbsp your favorite curd, store bought or homemade
1/2 cup amaretti or graham cracker crumbs (optional)
1/3 cup fresh berries

Raspberry Curd
1 1/3 cup black raspberries (red will work too)
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
6 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces

1. Curd: In a saucepan, heat together berries, sugar, eggs, water, pepper and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon. When berries start to break and the mixture bubbles, add butter. Stir until melted.

2. Increase heat, stirring constantly until it thickens. The back of the spoon should be coated.

3. Optional: Push the mixture into a sieve over a clean bowl. Discard seeds.

4. Let the curd cool while making the cheesecake: In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, lemon peel, and vanilla 60 seconds or until smooth. Beat in cream for 2 minutes or until thickened. Fold in sour cream.

5. In a container of your choice (I used wine glasses), place crumbs into each bottom if using. Add some of the cheesecake mixture. Add curd. Finish with another cheesecake layer. Do this for each container until all of the cheesecake mixture is gone. Be sure to refrigerate any leftover curd for future use.

6. Cover each container and refrigerate overnight to set the flavors. Serve with fresh berries on top.

Cheesecake: Cooking Club magazine Summer 2011, p. 28
Raspberry curd: French Cooking for Dummies

Small-Batch Jam

Guess what I learned this summer? Raddichio looks like red cabbage except a lot smaller (my argument - it was under the red cabbage sign. I just didn't look up in the top row). That and how to make jam when you only have one jar. Ok so I have acquired more jars since then but back when I picked fresh strawberries, I wanted to make jam. I went and bought a box of pectin before discovering some fruits naturally have pectin in them, mainly berries and apples. Pectin in strawberries can be found in the green tips of not-quite-ripe strawberries. Lemon juice also helps the gelling process.


Link for YouTube

I always considered jam a special technique because you have to make sure everything is steralized and cooked to prevent mold and illnesses when storing. Because the whole jam making process scared me, I decided to do my research. I found a very, very, VERY helpful video on YouTube, which I have posted above.

If you need jam jars, check out flea markets and yard sales. I usually find ones with lids for about 25-50 cents. I've also seen boxes and boxes (and more boxes) of jars without lids, but you can purchase lids separately at the store. It is recommended to replace lids every so often. Jars don't need replaced unless cracked.

Ok so I don't have any pictures of my jams, but I can assure you this recipe works for strawberries and black raspberries. Don't worry about fancy equipment either. I used a giant pot for my boiling water and tongs to grab the hot jar. Just make sure you have a lid that breaks into two parts: the lid itself and the rim you screw on.

The video above uses an 8-ounce and a 4-ounce jar. I adjusted the measurements for a 6-ounce jar.

For 6 ounce jar:
2 cups berries, sliced if needed
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Make sure jar has recently been washed with soap and hot water. Don't worry about drying because it will be going back into water. Place jar and lid into a pot of boiling water. Make sure it is deep enough for the jar to stand upright completely submerged in water. Or cheat like I do and turn it on its side. Probably not recommended but it works for me.

2. Place a small dish or bowl into freezer.

3. Once the water is boiling, leave the jar in there until ready to use. Meanwhile, place berries, sugar, and lemon juice into a somewhat-deep skillet. Heat and stir until it reaches a rolling boil. Keep stirring until it thickens, usually 10 minutes. When it seems like it is gelling, get your plate/bowl out of the freezer. Put a small drop onto the plate/bowl and let sit for 30 seconds. Tilt it. If it slides too fast, keep cooking. If it barely moves, it is done. Just make sure you don't overcook it, even if you have to test every minute or two. Turn off the heat.

4. Remove the jar and lids from water. Keep the water boiling. I usually put a paper towel on a hot plate so it can sit there for about a minute. Spoon jam into jar. Some suggest using a funnel, but the chunks might get stuck. If you do use a funnel, make sure it is steralized in hot water as well.

5. Wipe excess jam off the rim of the jar so it doesn't mess up the sealing process. Place the middle part of the lid on top. Screw on the lid rim. You may want to use an oven mitt so you can hold the jar still.

6. Place sealed jar back into the boilng water and boil for 15 minutes. Make sure it is submerged in the water. Remove from the water and let dry on a heat-resistant surface for 18-24 hours. Once cool, press down on the lid. If it stays down, it is sealed. If it pops back up, put in the refrigerator and use within two weeks.