For the 4th of July this year, I packed up my bags and drove down south to….Ooooooooooo-kla-ho-ma! Yep, the state where the wind comes sweeping down the plains is also home to my good friend Megan who I’ve known since high school. We all imagined she was destined for city life as a talented graphic designer, but she happened to fall in love with a boy from the Oklahoma country. (Sound like another famous blogger?) So now they live in this super adorable little farmhouse about a half hour outside of Oklahoma City that — between a graphic designer and a modern architect — is a Pinterester’s dream come true. :)
But in addition to being a wonderful friend, blogger, designer, musician, and 8-months-pregnant-soon-to-be-new-mama, Meg is also a fabulous cook. And since taking up life in the farmhouse, she has become a fabulous canner! So while I was down there on a 100+ degree day, she graciously offered to teach this canning novice how to make jam. Somehow in all my 29 years, I have never ever canned, and was more than a little intimidated by the process.
So we spent pretty much an entire day making various peach jams from the fresh peaches that Meg and Cale had just picked from an orchard. I quickly learned that canning involves a lot of patience (I had no idea the process took so long!), heat (see our “holy-moly-it’s-hot” pic below), sugar (wowza!), and fruit (soooo many peaches for a few jars!). But despite all of the work, I also learned that the process is definitely fun when shared with a good friend. Love this girl.
And love this peach earl grey jam! Such a wonderful combination of flavors. You canners will have to check it out. (Or even if you don’t “can”, just make a batch to enjoy immediately.) Love you, Meg!!!
Peach Earl Grey Jam
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 80 minutes
- Total Time: 120 minutes
- Yield: 2 pints
Description
Peaches pair perfectly with Earl Grey tea in this delicious jam!
Ingredients
- 5 pounds ripe peaches
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 4 Earl Grey tea bags
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- 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 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl of ice water; let cool. (If your peaches are extra soft and easy to peel, you can skip this step.)
- Peel, halve, and pit the peaches. Cut into 1/3 inch slices. Combine with sugar and juice in a large bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes.
- Place a small plate in freezer. This will be used to “test” the consistency of the jam.
- Transfer fruit mixture and 4 tea bags to a large heavy pot.
- Bring to a boil, stirring gently, and cook. The time here can be difficult to judge. We cooked ours about 1 hour, but the time can range anywhere from 30-90 minutes. This is where your “test” plate will come in handy. After 30 minutes of boiling, place a small dollop of jam on the chilled plate and tip it to see if it the jam no longer runs. Repeat every 15 minutes until you have your desired thickness.
- Remove tea bags. Skim foam from the surface of jam. Ladle jam into 4 clean, hot 1-pint jars.
- Wipe rims, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Source: Slightly adapted from Bringing Design Home & Bon Appetit.
This is an absolutely divine jam, but with that being said, the recipe has some incorrect information. I cut the recipe in half because in the directions it said it made 4 pints in step 6 and I didn’t know if I would like it. Then, after it was canned, I saw at the top it said 2 pints. I got three half pints from half a recipe. Secondly, nowhere in the recipe does it say when to add the vanilla. I assumed it should be added after it had cooked most of the way. I added it about 45 minutes in so the alcohol could dissipate before canning it. It is delicious and I immediately enjoyed what didn’t fit into the jars!
That looks delicious, I’m saving the recipe for the summer.
May I know how long can the jam be kept and does it need to be refrigerated?
If it is canned properly, it can be kept for up to 1 year outside of the refrigerator. If it is just refrigerated in a sealed container (without going through the canning process), I would not keep it for more than 1 week to be safe.
~Ali
I used to can a lot but haven’t done much in recent years, I always loved doing it. It is always wonderful opening a jar after the first snow!!
My son was 6 or 7 before he had his first store bought fruit and said “Mom, these are kind of hard”. There is a difference from home canned to store bought.:-)
Home made jam is wonderful, I love the chunks. I haven’t tried earl gray tea, sounds like an interesting mix.
Deb
We are just starting to get lots of lovely fresh peaches here… I will definitely have to make a batch of this jam! It sounds absolutely fabulous.
I love making peach jam with a bit of cardamoom. This version with tea steeped into it sound very intriguing!
An 8 month pregnant lady, 100F heat, and canning – now THAT is an amazing friend :) And this jam looks so heavenly…wow. I would buy it – start selling it!! :)
I’ve always wanted to can but I’ve been so intimidated! But now I definitely want to give it a try!
This looks absolutely delicious. Peach jam is one of my favorites and I imagine it’s great with earl grey!