Summertime calls for trips to local farms and the farmers’ market for fresh fruits, vegetables, and bloomin’ content for your Instagram feed. It’s fun to take it one step further than simply photographing your colorful basket of goodies, though.
I found the cutest little glass canning jars and they inspired me to fill them up with sweetness. On the first rainy day after visiting Sport Hill Farm in Easton, I pulled out some family jam recipes and am peachy keen on this makeshift one I came up with (which makes 12 small jars, pictured below).
Ingredients:
- 7-8 ripe peaches, medium in size
- 1 3/4 powdered pectin
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 fresh lemon
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
- Sterilize your jars. (Dishwasher is fine.)
- Peel peaches. Get rid of any bruises, in addition to the stems and pits.
- Cut up peaches to tiny chunks, place in big pot, and mash them up. (I used a meat tenderizer.)
- Add pectin and the juice from your fresh lemon into the pot, then mix well.
- Turn heat to high until it boils. Keep stirring the entire time.
- When it starts to bubble, lower the heat to add the cinnamon and both sugars.
- Turn the heat up again, and bring to another boil for an entire minute. Continue stirring the whole time.
- Your jam is done and ready to be poured into your jars. Leave a little space on top. Tighten up the jars.
- I picked out cute ribbon — peach colored, of course — to tie around my jars, along with little customized tags.
- The last step is to put them in your bike basket and deliver them to your neighbors.
Quoting Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the places you’ll go…” because peach jam was not solely meant for English muffins and high tea. There are many “places” you can go with your jam, such as…
1. Spread it on the top of your next baked brie appetizer
2. Serve it along with your tasty platter of pecorino, gorgonzola, and Formaggio di Fossa cheeses
3. Make stuffed French toast with your peach jam and cream cheese
4. Add a spoonful to the top of your French vanilla ice cream
5. You can even use it in your fave happy hour sip, such as a peach jam margarita or a peach jam bourbon cobbler cocktail
Lexx in the City 