Our delicious Aussie summer stone fruits have been on special pretty much every week lately with their season sadly coming to a close. Sad uh huh, unless you preserve their sweet, juicy goodness!
I love nothing more than sitting on the top step of the stairs that lead to our backyard on a summer afternoon and biting into a juicy, perfectly ripe peach. The drips of delicious juice that ends up covering my hands, the strings of flesh that get stuck in my teeth and the quintessential summery flavour all equal absolute perfection if you ask me.
Ingredients
6 large peaches, roughly chopped & seed removed
3 cups white sugar
85g pistachios (not incl shell)
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 lemon, juice & peel
1 packet JamSetta, 50g* (see notes)
Equipment Required
Besides regular equipment such as a blender, soup pot and ladle, there are a few preserving utensils that make the process easier. These are (but aren’t limited to): a wide mouth funnel – to make canning easier & less messy and a magnetic lid remover – to make removing the lids from the hot water bath less painful for your fingies.
1. Be Prepared! Sterilise all equipment*. Have lids in hot water on stove top, ready for canning*. Have lemon juiced & zested. Have sugar pre-measured. Have jars and jam funnel ready. Have a cup of iced water with a spoon in it ready for spoon test*.
2. Blend peaches & pistachios until you reach desired consistency. For me, peaches had minimal lumps & nuts were still in decent sized chunks.
3. Place the peaches, pistachios, lemon juice, lemon peel & JamSetta in big soup pot on medium high heat. Stir to combine then bring to boil.
4. Add the sugar and bring to rolling boil, stirring continuously.
5. Keep stirring while it boils for a few minutes.
6. Time for spoon test. Use the cold spoon to quickly scoop a small amount of jam out. Wiping your finger through the mixture on the spoon should create drag, which is perfect. If not, boil for more time and repeat test with cold spoon.
7. Take jam off heat.
8. Time to start canning! I used a soup ladle to move the jam from soup pot to jars, leaving a small space at the top of the jar, roughly 1/4 inch.
9. Carefully remove lids from hot water, 1 by 1 and screw on gently but firmly.
10. Turn jars upside down and cover with tea towel for a few hours and ta daa, lids will be sealed as if by magic. Tighten the lids one last time, they tend to loosen slightly while sealing so if you tighten them at this point they’ll definitely stay sealed.
Notes
1. JamSetta is available from Coles (baking section) and is a pectin based jam setting aid that makes the whole thing as easy as can be. It’s in a sachet.
2. Sterilise everything – lids, jars, pot & utensils.
3. Place the jar lids in a saucepan, covered in hot water and keep on a medium heat throughout the cooking process.
4. A spoon test is simply a way to check your jam is setting. Always use a cold spoon and if setting correctly, the jam will coagulate as you slide your finger through it. Don’t fear if your jam is still runnier than normal at this point, it will continue to set as it cools.
This is my new favourite jam. I love the peachyness! The nuts are soft but add brilliant texture and the vanilla ties all the awesomeness together. Yum! This would be a great jam to gift, it’s different enough to be just that extra bit special.
Kiz xx
