I had peaches. I had fresh peppers from the garden. I had canning jars. Time to make some jam.
Every summer when peach season hits its peak, I think of my sister, Arlene, and the peach orchard she used to live on. It was peach-everything back in those days. Pies, cobblers, salsa… just eating them out-of-hand with juice running down your arm. Good times, indeed.
Fast-forward to today, and I have 4 pounds of pretty awesome California peaches and a dozen or so long hot peppers that are just waiting to be chopped and boiled and placed into sterile jars.
I don’t have any fancy canning equipment, so I stick with high-acid items and the basic water bath. Maybe one day I’ll get a pressure cooker – but it probably won’t be this week.
Canning is not difficult and it’s not even particularly time-consuming. That being said, I remember my grandmother canning vegetables and jams back when I was a kid in a sweltering kitchen. She mostly did paraffin-topped canning where thin layers of paraffin wax were poured into the jars and built up to about a half-inch to seal them before the lids were added. My mother flat-out refused to can. Being able to buy frozen and canned vegetables at the store was a luxury she totally took advantage of.
And I tend to make smaller batches of things. It really is different doing it because I want to rather than having to in order to feed my family. Talk about being spoiled. Today was just 24 4-ounce jars. Perfect for gifts at Christmas!
The peppers we’re growing are pretty hot when left unseeded, so I seeded them before chopping them in the food processor. And I didn’t peel the peaches. I rarely peel anything. I also chopped the peaches in the food processor but left a few chunks for texture and interest.
24 jars later… 15 minutes in the water bath, and every one sealed.
Peach Pepper Jam
(makes about 24 1/2-cup jars)
- 4 lbs peaches, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups minced hot peppers
- 2 cups white balsamic vinegar
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 pkg powdered fruit pectin
Finely mince peppers in food processor. Finely chop peaches in food processor.
Mix pectin with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Add it, along with the peppers, peaches, and vinegar to saucepan. Heat to boil, stirring occasionally.
Add remaining sugar, stirring well, and let boil at a full rolling boil about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, skim foam from top, and place in hot sterile jars.
Wipe rims, top with lids and rings, and process in boiling water bath about 15 minutes.
It came out spicy-sweet! Perfect for topping chicken or pork – or on a cracker with cheese…
I don’t know how many more peppers we’re going to be getting… I’m hoping to be able to can a bunch of them, as well – I just used up my last jar from last year – but the bounty doesn’t seem as prolific as last year…
We shall see…