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!~
