August 22, 2013

Peach & Bourbon Preserves

My neighbour, an older Greek man who is the most amazing gardener, brought me over some peaches from one of his trees. While they weren’t the biggest or the most beautiful peaches, I know that they were grown with love, and without lots of chemicals. Since I had just gotten some Maryland peaches the day earlier, I pondered what I could do with them. I remembered last year when Mr. Stephanos had given me some figs, I made fig & bourbon jam from them, so I thought Peach and Bourbon are a great combination, so why not try it.

I hunted around for a recipe, and found a simple one – basically meaning one that meant I didn’t have to leave the house to get any of the ingredients. The recipe came from the Chicago Tribune and it was so easy.peach & bourbon preserves (4)

I wasn’t sure how much my peaches weighed, so I just estimated. I also didn’t have any tapioca, so I used some pectin to help it gel.

To make skinning the peaches easier, I did the boiling water/ice bath technique.
peach & bourbon preserves (2)

Put the fruit/veg in boiling water for about 30 seconds, but not long enough to start it cooking, and then plunge into a bowl of ice-water. The skins will peel right off. This is great for tomatoes, too!

I cut up the peaches, but perhaps not as small as suggested and then added everything to the pot. I added one of the peach pits because, if I remember correctly, they impart some pectin.

After about five minutes, everything began to boil and soften. Oh, where it says to add a half-teaspoon of bourbon? Ha! It was more like a half a cup. I also used sugar that had a vanilla bean in it. peach & bourbon preserves (5)

After cooking for another ten minutes, it was really starting to break down, but to hurry it along, I gave it a couple of wizzes with my immersion blender.

Then I decanted the jam into some of my Weck jars. It was pretty true to the recipe and made about two cups. I got four of the small jars with a 5.4 oz. capacity and one with a 12 oz. capacity.

The peaches might be a little chunkier than I like, but that’s okay. I checked the jam/preserves this morning and the jam had set nicely. The bit I tasted last night was good, but I think that after sitting a little while, it will be even better!

For the recipe, click on the image to enlarge it, or click on this Chicago Tribune link.

15 comments:

  1. Now I need homemade pancakes and very fresh sweet butter and my day will be complete. Thanks for the inspiration.
    Mary

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    1. I am thinking of some of this over a good quality vanilla ice cream!

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  2. hmm sounds delicious + easy. I like those two together. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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  3. Yummy! our weather this year has been particularly good for peaches I think -i've had some of the best peaches this month! I've been cutting them up and putting them on salads mostly but this jam sounds delicious!

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    1. I think it's all the rain we got in July, and then the scant amount during August.

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  4. Just like tomatoes, it's hard to find a good peach anymore. Ugly peaches are usually the best tasting.

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    1. I had some beautiful peaches from the grocery store last week and I was so excited to eat them, but they were gross. All mealy and tasteless. YUCK!

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  5. We have so many farmers' markets in DC now that I am spoiled eating fruit and vegetables that have just been picked. I rarely buy from the grocery stores now since a few of the markets are year-round. This summer the peaches from the Dupont Circle market have been juice-running-down-your-arm good. Your recipe sounds delicious but when you remarked that the peaches were a little chunky, my first thought was "Bet this would be a great sauce over vanilla ice cream." Enjoy the preserves.

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    1. Something about peaches and vanilla ice cream is so perfect!

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  6. Yes, spotty mis-shapen back-yard peaches are the best, and the addition of bourbon is a natural, although the Tribune's token suggestion of meager 1/2 teaspoon is clearly a misprint. I mean, why bother? At least you knew what the recipe was supposed to say.

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    1. Clearly a huge typo! It's laughable that they thought 1/2 teaspoon would be sufficient!

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  7. Meg you make it look so easy! If you have more peaches and an ice cream maker, make peach and vanilla ice cream! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe ~
    XO Lisa

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    1. I've made that before and there's really not much better in August than that!

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