I love this time of the summer when there are so many fruits and vegetables ripe and ready to eat. However there is always the issue of having too many and produce goes bad. That is what led me to todays kitchen...experiment? I love the discount produce section at our local grocery store; bags of lettuce for $.50, containers of raspberries for $.89, and bags of fruit for $.99. Last week I purchased a large bag of
peaches (oops didn't check the bag too close) nectarines and after eating a few I noticed that the remainder of the bag was starting to get soft. I had just made a round of desserts for the previous weekend including zucchini brownies, and key lime cookie cups using the huge bag of limes that I purchased on discount (sorry didn't post those delicious cookies...but here is a picture).
Though it's unusual I have lost my taste for desserts right now *shock* so the usual peach crisp, peach pie, or anything else of the sort was not sounding good. Plus I knew we wouldn't eat it all and it would just go to waste anyway. Unfortunately I had to throw away some of those good lime cookies and zucchini brownies too, my husband and I just can't eat that much sweet stuff. Earlier today we had just picked a handful of fresh jalapeños from the garden, and while staring at all the canning supplies at Wal-Mart I saw a bag of spiced peaches seasoning and IT HIT ME! Peach pepper jam...err nectarine pepper jam! So I purchased a container of pectin and headed home with a plan, in my head anyway. I have never made jam before but growing up on a farm we
always had fresh fruit jam. I think I know what I need to do so lets get to it!
I started peeling my nectarines, and eating all the skins :) why waste the goodies right? I sliced them up and cut them into chunks.
Nice and juicy and right into the pot!
I remember reading/hearing to add lemon juice to homemade jellies or jams. So I figured it wouldn't hurt. I squeezed half a lemon into a bowl so I didn't squeeze the seeds into the pot.
I added 2/3 c. of sugar to the nectarines along with the lemon juice and turned the heat on low.
It is always so hard to guess how hot a jalapeño is going to be so I just started with two. A little tip for all of you who are afraid to handle these spicy little gems: rub oil on your hands before you start cutting them so the oil will protect your skin.
It works well for me, just be careful the juice can get under fingernails and linger for a long time, so scrub your hands when your done and DO NOT touch your face or your eyes!
ouch! I tasted one small piece of the jalapeño to test it's hotness. I figured that is the only way to figure it out. Well, they are HOT ones this time, my lip was numb for a little while :)
Add the peppers to the pot give it a stir and wait, wait, wait.
When I added the peppers to the pot I realized that I bought the wrong kind of pectin! It's instant!
What! That is what Wal-Mart does to me...I get distracted and try to get out of there ASAP, that place is such a crazy mess. So I am just experimenting now. Cook down the
peaches nectarines and peppers until the consistency is right, let it cool, and use the no cook pectin that I bought. I
think it should work fine.
Here is the nectarine/pepper mixture after cooking for about and hour and being smashed with the potato masher. Total I let the mixture cook for 2 hrs.
I smashed the mixture up a little bit more as it cooled down and added the pectin to the mixture slowly through a flour sifter (I didn't want it to clump together so it seemed logical to "sift" it in)
I am sure you understand I could not sift with one hand, stir with the other, and take a picture so forgive me for leaving that step out.
I save all of my empty glass jars from pasta sauce, salsa, jellies, etc. so I grabbed two and filled them with the tasty jam. As it cooled it started to thicken so I think the pectin did it's job.
YUMMMMY!
So a quick review:
about 2c. of peaches... er nectarines
2/3 c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
2 jalepenos
2 T instant pectin
Cut fruit and pepper and start to cook over low heat in a small saucepan.
Add the sugar and lemon juice to the mixture and cook until desired consistency.
Mash with a potato masher if desired.
Add pectin (follow directions on regular pectin, which you would need to add while you are cooking)
Ladle into jars or containers and ENJOY!
*recommendations for peach pepper jam*
spread cream cheese on a cracker and top with jam
spread a thin layer of cream cheese on a plate and top with jam, eat with pretzels or wheat thins
marinate chicken or pork before grilling
spread on a cold turkey sandwich
dip for grilled cheese
dip for chicken tenders or chicken nuggets
dip for jalapeno poppers
Comment below and share how you like to use your spicy peach jam!
UPDATE: First taste test
I couldn't wait to try this jam so for breakfast I spread a little on my toast.
I will say that it could be a lot spicier, so in the future I would ere on the side of spicy if you like the heat. Maybe using 3 or 4 jalapeños instead of 2. The consistency is great, the sweetness just right, so add another use for pepper peach jam: toast!
Keep "jammin" on at Baker & Brackenridge!
Love & Light,
Jamie Jeanne
