Peach Raspberry Jam

Canning/Freezing season is in full swing and I couldn't help think about how every year it sneaks up on me. It seems like we wait & wait for the produce to be ripe and ready-then in a flash it's here and something has to be done about it! I'm very thankful that this busy time has coincided with my second trimester burst of energy! God knows exactly what we need when we need it-just like how He as provided abundance, even through a bad drought this year. Thus far I've frozen corn, green beans, peaches & some early applesauce. I've also canned some quarts of Roma tomatoes & this yummy jam I want to share with you.

This was my first solo attempt at jam after watching my dad make it when I was little. It seemed to take forever to find a good recipe that fit the amounts of ingredients I had, but I finally found a good one late last night! I used frozen raspberries, which I would suggest buying at Aldi so you don't consider offering you left kidney in payment at the store for fresh or frozen name brand berries like I did today at IGA. All kidding aside, frozen really do work just as good, but if you have a free source of fresh berries-by all means, use them! The peaches came from the family cabin, so they were free and I decided paying more for the berries was still worth it. Oh, and this makes a lot of jam, so feel free to halve the recipe. But who doesn't like homemade jam?

Ingredients:

• 8 cups peeled, pitted & mashed peaches
• 1-1/2 tsp vitamin C powder (citric acid), divided
• 3 cups crushed raspberries
• 2 pkgs. powdered fruit pectin (I bought mine in bulk & used 2/3 cups for this recipe)
• 10 cups of sugar

 Add 1 tsp of citric acid to mashed peaches & 1/2 tsp to the crushed raspberries.

In a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot combine fruit. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the sugar with the powdered pectin. This will help the pectin not to clump. Add sugar/pectin mix to the fruit and stir to dissolve. Bring to a slow boil over high heat while stirring frequently. Add the remaining 9 cups of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, allow to boil hard for 1 minute while stirring. Remove from heat.

Allow hot jam to sit for 2 minutes then skim the foam that has developed off the top. I saw a site that said you could save the unappetizing looking foam, microwave it for 30-60 seconds then you can put it in the fridge to use fresh. I did it and it turns into nice looking jam again! Waste not, want not! :)

Ladle hot jam into hot, sanitized jars, with about 1/4 inch of headspace (space between jam and top of the jar). Adjust two piece lids & process 10 minutes in hot-water bath canner, making sure there is at least and inch of water covering the lids.




Yield (what I got):
8--1/2 pints (8 oz)
12--4 oz jars
1 pint


Enjoy!