These may not be the peaches, from Campbell, Missouri, that I grew up eating, and later canning, but Michigan grows their own mighty fine peaches, too. You know the kind you have to eat over the kitchen sink because the juices are dripping off your elbow? Yes, we grow that variety here, too.
You have to get them while you can because you can’t get a good peach outside of August or September around here. And these were destined to be preserved.
As a jam. That tastes like my Grandma’s Lazy Man’s Peach Cobbler*.
I am envisioning this spooned warm over a slice of pound cake on a cold and snowy night.
Vanilla Peach Jam
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inspired by GrowItCookItCanIt
yields 6 half pints
4 c. peeled, diced juicy ripe peaches (I think I started with 8, I bought more but they disappeared)
9 tsp. bottled lemon juice
1 c water
4 1/2 TBS Ball brand low sugar pectin
1 1/2 c sugar
3 fresh vanilla beans
In a small bowl, whisk together pectin and 1/2 c. sugar. In a large, non-reactive pot, combine peaches, lemon juice, vanilla beans, sliced open and scraped in and the pectin-sugar mixture. Bring to a full boil, the definition of which is a boil that cannot be stirred down, and then sprinkle in the remaining sugar. Keep the heat on high, stir often to prevent the fruit from sticking, and bring the jam back to a full rolling boil. Start timing when the boil cannot be easily stirred down. Cook for exactly one full minute, while at a boil, then remove from the heat. Ladle jam into sterilized jars leaving 1/4″ headspace. Wide rims clean and screw on the lids. Process for 10 minutes.
I’m thinking this would also be great in a fried pie. Grandma Ellis was known to make fried pies, cooked in a cast iron skillet, for Sunday night supper. She made other flavors, too, but I remember the peach best of all. Mmm….
And because I can’t get over how much this jam tastes like the peach cobbler Grandma Ellis taught me to make, when I first set up housekeeping, I thought you might want to make it, too. It is much easier than a fried pie!
Lazy Man’s Peach Cobbler
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1 stick butter
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c self-rising flour or baking mix, gluten-free works well, too (if you don’t have self rising flour you can add 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt to all-purpose flour)
1 c sugar
1 qt or 29 oz can of canned peaches, juices included
Melt butter in a 13 x 9 baking dish on 350°.
Mix sugar and baking mix together; stir in the milk, with the vanilla added to it, until moistened. Pour over melted butter. DO NOT stir. Pour the peaches and juice over the batter. Bake for 45 minutes. The batter will rise to the top as it cooks and make a delicious crust.
Enjoy!!
Sewfrench 