summer summer fruit… it wouldn’t be summer without ’em*
Have you ever had a conversation that really would be thought of as inappropriate if overheard? Man, these peaches could’ve gotten me into lots of trouble.
September’s TCJ produce: Stone Fruit. I picked peaches and lost my mind fairly quickly. Umm, yeah. Sorry, I only put up a super tiny batch because I couldn’t stop eating them.
Seriously, I went to the farmers’ market near work twice. I went to two different grocery stores. All had good local peaches. All got EATEN.
They were these big, beautiful, ripe and juicy things that wanted to be spoken of in lush, seductive terms. Smelling so light and sweet. All that peachy-ness dancing on air, tempting me. My guilty hands covered in nectar.
See what i mean? They were the best kind of trouble. So. Damn. Good.
At the office, they were so enticing that I wasn’t surprised only a few made it home. When I tried to explain to a co-worker how amazing they were, he started looking around for HR.
They really were the perfect example of why eating seasonally and locally is so important, at least where taste is concerned. I decided the few peaches I had left should get the simplest treatment possible.
Gently Gingered Peaches
Adapted from the basic peach recipe in Linda J Amendt’s Blue Ribbon Preserves
Makes 2 Pints or 1 quart
2-3 lbs of firm, ripe, unblemished peaches
2 cups of water
¾ cup of sugar
4 cups of cold water
1 tablespoon of antioxidant crystals or ascorbic acid crystals (hey there fruit fresh)
Fresh ginger coin slice (1/8th in thick) (if using pints cut in half)
Rinse peaches in cool water.
Sterilize jars and lids.
In a 4 quart pan, combine the 2 cups of water and ginger with the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved over med-high heat. Once dissolved, turn the heat up and bring it to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and keep syrup hot until needed.
In a large bowl, combine the 4 cups of cold water and antioxidant crystals. Stir until the crystals are completely dissolved.
Peeling that peach: fill a pan about half full of water and bring it to a simmer. Fill another large bowl with ice water. Carefully lower the peaches a few at a time into the water for about 30 seconds. Remove the peaches and get them into the ice bath for a minute or two. Repeat the whole thing with the rest of your peaches.
Using a sharp paring knife, carefully skin them peaches. Cut each peach in half and remove the pit. Using a spoon, carefully remove the red stuff from the center of the peaches. Umm, this might take practice or a pitting spoon. Mine didn’t look super pretty, more gutted. But, whatever.
Place the halved fruit in the antioxidant solution. Don’t leave longer than 20 minutes. Remove the peaches from their “please-don’t-turn-mangy-colors” bath. Rinse thoroughly and drain well.
Add peaches to the hot syrup. Over medium heat, let the peaches cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat.
Add ¼ cup of hot syrup into each jar. Pack the peaches, cut side down, into the jars, leaving a ½ inch headspace.
So, ummm, I, apparently, stopped here thinking that was, you know, it. I covered the peaches and added the ginger to the jar. Checked for air bubbles and processed in the hot water bath.
Well, that wasn’t it. Here are the rest of Linda’s directions. I’m about to eat my peaches that I put up and start over.
Place a sieve over a medium saucepan and line the sieve with 3-4 layers of clean, damp cheesecloth. Strain the syrup through the cheesecloth. Over med-high heat, quickly bring the syrup to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
Ladle the hot syrup in to the jars, covering the peaches and leaving ½ inch headspace. Using a bubble freer or a plastic knife, remove any trapped air bubbles. Hold the jar up and check from the bottom for any air bubbles trapped under the fruit. If necessary, add more syrup to maintain headspace. Wipe the jar rims and triads with a clean, damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process pint jars in water bath for 20 minutes, quart jars for 25 minutes.
I think the last step will stick now that I’ve typed it for you. Woo-hoo.
TheNikkiBits: Well, you saw the reading comprehension part isn’t really my strong suit when it comes to recipes. I kinda just want to finish. Looks like I know what I’m having for brekkie in the am. Wait, why did I just envision a bit of good vanilla ice cream volunteering to be the bed for that peach dream? Oh, and I’ve already sipped a little of the syrup that was left over. I can’t wait to get a little licka to go with it. I might even try to rock a ginger peach soju cocktail this evening. Mmmm…. Yeahh…
What’sNext: Back to the Farmers’ Market on Sunday to see if there are more yellow beauties to behold and be canned.
Nikki♥
*does anyone remember that commercial?