6.03.2010

peach preserves

while perusing my local grocer's ad this morning,
i noticed that two of my favorite fruits are on sale!! 
peaches and strawberries! (gasp!)
my eyes were as big as saucers when i realized 
all the yummy goodies i could make! 
some of my fondest memories of growing up in central texas 
involved picking fresh peaches straight from the tree.
some of them were so ripe i couldn't wait, and had to eat them.
the succulent juices poured
down my chin and made me 
completely sticky! but it was so worth it.

my parents would carefully wash and prepare the peaches
and soon the delicious aroma
of peach preserves filled the house!
my favorite way to enjoy the goodness was to eat it on 
my dad's homemade biscuits. talk about delish!!

unfortunately, there aren't any peach trees on our three acres.
so when peaches are on sale, even if they aren't quite ripe,
i buy them in bulk!

this is the recipe i used last year~ it's oh so good!
in fact, we ran out of peach preserves fairly quickly :(

peach preserves

12 fresh peaches, pitted and chopped
(use slightly under-ripe, firm peaches, since you'll be cooking them.)
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 (2 oz) package of dry pectin
8 (8 oz) jars with lids

• crush 1 cup chopped peaches in the bottom 
of a large saucepan.add remaining peaches, and set 
pan over medium-low heat. bring to a low boil, 
and cook for about 20 minutes or until peaches 
become mostly liquid. (i like to leave chunks of peaches.)

• add sugar, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
gradually stir in dry pectin, and boil for 1 minute.

• remove from heat after 1 minute and transfer to sterilized
jars. process in hot water bath canner for 10 minutes.
let cool and place on shelf. 

enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. Who knew it was THAT easy! I store down the road has strawberries on sale for....99 CENTS!!! A PACKAGE!! One time, no lie, the store had it for .89 cents and another store was advertising theirs on sale for $4.50! I'm not even exaggerating numbers! I pointed it out to Josh and laughed. We are soon to be out of jelly...I might try this! :)

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