This week’s recipe comes from Emeril Lagasse’s Farm to Fork (HarperStudio). Our cooking columnist Sybil Pratt considered it one of the top August cookbooks, saying that Lagasse’s 150+ recipes for fresh, fun food “make this a really worthwhile new source.”
Peach Freezer Jam
Yield: 8 ½-pint jars or 4 pint jars freezer jam
If you want to preserve the fresh fruit of summer but don’t feel like standing over a hot stove and sterilizing jars, this quick, fool-proof method is for you. Just make sure that you follow the directions as outlined below and measure fruit and sugar exactly to ensure a good set on the jam.
Ingredients
2 ¾ cups finely chopped peeled and pitted ripe peaches, (about 2 ¼ pounds)
6 ½ cups sugar
2 pouches (1 box) Sure Jell Liquid Pectin
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and cut into 8 small pieces
Combine the peaches and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sugar should be nearly dissolved.
In a separate bowl combine the pectin and lemon juice.
Stir the pectin mixture into the peach-sugar mixture and stir constantly until the sugar is no longer grainy and is nearly completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the almond extract and the vanilla bean seeds and stir to combine. Spoon the jam into clean ½-pint or pint-size jars. Place one piece of vanilla bean inside of each jar. Cover the jars and let stand at room temperature until jam is set, up to 24 hours. Place the jam in the freezer and use as needed. Freezer jam should be consumed within 1 year. Jam may also be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Recipe provided courtesy of HarperStudio, publishers of Emeril Lagasse’s Farm to Fork (2010).
I can not wait to try this. In all my years I have never put something up for later and now I am retired and have the time. This sounds easy enough even for someone my age.
Thanks for the simple instructions.
This sounds really good. I’ve always wanted to try to make jam or jelly but I was intimidated by the process. This looks like something that even I can master. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this jam today and have to say I was very disappointed. I am a faithful watcher of Emeril and I can’t believe that this recipe is written correctly. I faithfully made it, as written, after all – it is Emeril, right?!!?
Well, I could never get the sugar dissolved and so started comparing the sugar/peach ratio in this recipe to others and I am sure it is a mistake. It appears that the ratio in the recipe should be for a cooked jam although this is clearly a freezer jam. The sugar is more than twice what is needed for a freezer jam with this quantity of peaches.
Someone really goofed on this one!