Friday, July 8, 2011

peach jam ~and~ peach jelly


I was up to my elbows in peaches last night,
with some yummy results!


Have you noticed at the grocery,
that peaches are at their peak right now?
They were $0.98 a pound at my HEB grocery 
and then I found them the next day at my Wal-Mart for $0.67 a pound!
Between the two stores I purchased 6 pounds of peaches for $5.00.

What did 6 pounds of peaches make?
Well, first I peeled them, chopped them up
and made 14 jars of peach jam.


I used the recipe for peach jam
in my Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving.

But...I wasn't done after making the jam!
This is the coolest thing -
you can boil the peach peelings and pits
to make peach juice and then
turn that peach juice into peach jelly!

I used the directions I found here
and it worked like a charm!


10 jars of peach jelly!


Not bad for $5 worth of peaches and a few hours of work.

Are you wondering what exactly do you need to can jams and jellies?


First, you need a canner and rack.
I originally just bought a canning rack
thinking that if it didn't fit in my large pot, 
it would definitely fit in the largest stock pot
that I already had!



No!  Not big enough.  
I did use both of these pots during my jam making - 
the large stock pot to keep my jars hot
and my regular pot to make the jam in.
I returned the canning rack
and bought the canner and rack together as a set.


You also need your canning jars,
rims, and new lids.
(You have to use new lids every time, 
but the jars and rims/bands 
can be used over and over.)


I debated on buying this little set,
but ended up being so glad that I did.
It included a funnel that fits right in the jars, 
the jar tongs, 
a magnetic lid lifter (really handy!) 
and a combo bubble remover/head space ruler -
all priced less as a set than if bought individually.


And you need your ingredients for 
your chosen recipe.  
I needed peaches, lemons,


sugar,


and pectin - liquid was called for in this recipe.

After I canned the jam,
all I needed for the jelly
was the peach peelings and pits,
more sugar, a bit of butter
 and some powdered pectin.

With six pounds of peaches I made
two batches of jam
and two batches of jelly.


That's plenty for our family for a year
with several leftover for gifts.




~yummy!  summertime in a jar!~


9 comments:

Kari said...

Your projects and photos inspire me! Would you mind sharing what kind of camera you use? Thanks! Kari

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

Yummy :) :) The peach jam and jelly look so good in those jars. oh, I think whoever you gift them to, will be really, really happy :) :) I haven't tried canning....not yet, anyway :) :) Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

Mrs. H. said...

Kari I use a Nikon D40. I've had it for almost 4 years and completely love it. :-)

Thank you Heather - you are always so sweet. You have a great weekend, too!

Beloved's Redheaded Bride said...

Very Beautiful Pictures and I am sure all that jelly/jam will be yummy too!

Red Hen said...

Oh, yummy! Very inspiring. I love to make jams and jellies and wanted to do blackberries this weekend. Perhaps I'll have to do peaches, too!

Little Home In The Country said...

Those look delicious! What a great tip to make jelly from the skins - I'm going to try that! :)

Ott, A said...

What beautiful pictures and a great write-up on how to can your jelly and jam. I wanted to invite you to our Canning Week Blog Party (Aug. 22-26). http://alattewithotta.blogspot.com/p/canning-week-2011.html There will be a canning linky party with a guest judge, and canning related give-a-ways. It should be a lot of fun and I hope you will stop by and link up!!!

Farmgirl Heidi said...

Thank you very much for sharing this post. I will be using these recipes in a few months when my harvest comes in. I am so glad you shared this with us today.

Heidi

Jani said...

This is a beautiful post. Thanks so much for inspiring me! I too use my ball book for lots of really good ideas and recipes for canning. I'm really just a beginner, but I love to can! I'll have to try this peach jelly idea. I'm excited!