smart traveller: Canning with Paige: Earl Grey Peach Jam ? Bringing Design Home

Friday, May 25, 2012

Canning with Paige: Earl Grey Peach Jam ? Bringing Design Home

Thursday ? May 24, 2012 ? by meg

Today we are launching one of our favorite summer series called ?Canning with? ?. This is our third year and what started as Canning with Grandma has now turned into a collaboration with different bloggers and several neighborhood friends. We?ll be sharing a new recipe about every two weeks from now through August. From Sweet & Sour Pickles to Rose Water we?ve got enough to keep you coming back all summer long! So dust off those canning jars and get stashed with equipment. Before you know it you?ll be up to your ears with the season?s freshest fruits and vegetables.

Hi ya?ll! My name is Paige and I write the blog, This Texan Wife. This Texan Wife is devoted to inspirational living, family style. What does that mean you say? I write about the things I love: cooking, home d?cor, fashion, and entertaining among others, but most importantly, how our family likes to incorporate all of these elements into our own lifestyle. My husband is in the Army so things can get a little chaotic at times, but no matter where we live (currently near Savannah, Georgia) we will always call Texas home. We are excitedly anticipating the birth of our daughter, due in early September, and love to harass snuggle our dog, Winston, and cat, Charles.

My parents moved from suburban Houston to a small, hill country town outside of Austin, Texas about 5 years ago. Not only was the pace of the every day life different, there were whole new aspects to living a ?country? life to get used to, like a full tree of peaches every May.

Over the past couple years I?ve taken on the hundreds of peaches that inhabit our kitchen for the last two weeks of May with cobblers, chutneys, salsas and more. Last year we even turned them into our wedding favors! My mom and I tackled the project this year, and we ended up with ginger peach jam, jalapeno peach jam and now, early grey infused peach jam. Don?t forget the weeks of cobbler for dessert!

Depending on the size and age of your peaches, the process can get a little overwhelming so don?t despair! Our peaches were at the end of their life and were very small, so lots of peeling involved. I?ve included the recipe I followed, but please be aware that every stove cooks differently, so test your jam before you can!

Canned Earl Grey Peach Jam

5 pounds ripe peaches

4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 Earl Grey tea bags, divided, 1 extra for garnish

1 tablespoon vanilla

STEP 1: (Optional) Cut a small, shallow X in the bottom of each peach. Working in batches, blanch in a large pot of boiling water until skin loosens, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl of ice water; let cool. I didn?t do this step as ours were already very soft. Most recipes will call for it, but use your judgment ? if your peaches are soft and easy to peel, it may not be necessary.

STEP 2: Peel, halve, and pit. Cut into 1/3 inch slices. Combine with sugar and juice in a large bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes.

STEP 3: Place a small plate in freezer. This will be used to ?test? the consistency of the jam.

STEP 4: Transfer fruit mixture and 4 tea bags to a large heavy pot. Open the remaining tea bag; add about ? to ? of the contents to the pot.

STEP 5: Bring to a boil, stirring gently, and cook. The time here can be difficult to judge. I usually cook mine for about 45 minutes to an hour and a half, but many recipes call for only 15-20 minutes. This is where your ?test? plate will come in handy, after 30 minutes of boiling test it every 15 minutes until you have the desired thickness.

STEP 6: Test doneness by scooping a small spoonful onto chilled plate and tilting plate. (Preserves are ready if they don?t run.)
Remove tea bags. Skim foam from the surface of jam. Ladle jam into 4 clean, hot 1-pint jars.

STEP 7: Wipe rims, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Adapted from Bon App?tit.

I met Paige this last winter at Altitude Design Summit and since then we?ve been emailing back and forth trying to come up with ways to collaborate. I recently saw on facebook that her kitchen was COVERED in peaches and thought only a canning girl would pick that many peaches! Paige is a true Southern girl and we?re so grateful that she has helped us kick off our canning series with such a yummy recipe!

Make sure you check out her blog, facebook, and twitter! She?s also got a little girl baby bump (apparently there is something in the water) so we are having fun staying in touch as first time, soon to be, mommies.