For weeks I have gazed longingly across the street at our neighbors tree. The tree has been there a long time, I suppose. Definitely 5 years~ as long as we have lived on this street. But this year something miraculous happened to that tree. Peaches. I really think it was a miracle because if anyone has fruit tree radar, its me. And never before has that tree beared fruit~ until this year.
And this year, the peaches weighed down the tree in such abundance, it was gawk worthy~ not just for me but for the neighbors, the runners, the mailman, and the dozens of moms pushing strollers each day. A sight to behold!
Week after week, the peaches grew and last week, started falling. I watched from my big picture window, waiting for the renters of the house to come pick them. They didn't. I waited a few more days~ a storm came, broke one of the peach heavy limbs...still no gathering of the fruit. Utter torture to watch.
Finally, I got the gumption (i.e. sent Mike over with a note to put on the door) offering to gather peaches and deliver some jam, if they were interested. They were. We picked, and picked and picked and even to this very morning, the tree remains full (I'm telling you, miraculous tree!)
So, as promised, I will deliver jam to their doorstep this week. This jam~ made with the neighborhood peaches and a jar of Bourbon Vanilla Sorghum from a local company you can read about here.
Jam is really easy to make. I also made a few jars of Vanilla Peach Butter, which is even easier. If you aren't up for actually going through the process of canning, just store the jam in the fridge right from the get-go. I'm certain it won't last long...
Peach Bourbon Vanilla Sorghum Jam
Ingredients
- 6 lbs. ripe fresh peaches peeled and cut into small pieces
- 2 cups white sugar
- freshly-squeezed lemon juice from one lemon
- 2T. vanilla
- 1 (8.8oz) jar Bourbon Vanilla Sorghum (if not using, add 1 additional cup of sugar)
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Have the container or jar(s) you’ll be refrigerating your jam in clean, dry and handy.
- Prepare peaches.
- Place prepared peaches, sugar, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and sorghum into a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. If you like, you can mash your peaches with a potato masher at this point, to break up any large pieces. Lower heat slightly and continue to cook, stirring regularly, until it reaches the gel point (224° F. on a candy thermometer). Alternately, if you don’t have a thermometer, you can place a saucer into the freezer when you start preparing your jam. When you want to test if it has reached the gel point, remove from the freezer and place a small puddle of jam onto the cold saucer. With your spoon, push against the middle of the puddle of jam. If it “wrinkles” and leaves a path when you run your spoon through it, it’s ready. If it doesn’t (it’s still liquid, runs back together after running your spoon through it), cook a little longer and test again until it does.
- Spoon hot jam into prepared jar(s) or container(s). Allow to cool slightly, cover with lids then refrigerate immediately. Jam can also be frozen in freezer jam containers or hot water bath canned.
