Just when it seems life slows down around the farm something always happens.
The neighbor's cows got into Mr. Cowboy's hay meadow & he needed help shooing them back toward the dry creek bed they came through. He had some choice words that don't bare repeating as I put me boots, gloves, hat and any other protective gear I could think of to wear.
We commenced to shooing them home with a stray here and there attempting to grab a bite before they had to go home. That wasn't too terribly bad but mending that gap was no fun for this old girl. Barbed wire is strong, sharp & tricky to handle. Neither one of us enjoyed the process or the heat but we got it done.
Then it was onto the peach fuzz jelly. Yep, you heard correctly. At least that's what I've named my jars.
I found the recipe via Blind Pig & The Acorn, which lead me to Raising Homemakers by Carmen (Sorry, I don't have the link to that blog but I wanted to give full credit to her and Blind Pig. I was so happy to find this great recipe which allows you to use ever bit of the peach. I printed off the recipe and am providing it below.
Peach Jelly by Carmen
- 4 cups peach juice (see below)
- 1 package of pectin (I really like Kroger brand!)
- 1/2 tsp. butter
- canning jars, bands and lids (new lids!)
- 5 1/2 cups sugar
To make peach juice place the peach pits and skins in a pot and cover with water. (I had about 15-20 peaches so this batch of juice made enough for two batches of jelly and then some.) Turn the burner on high. Once it starts boiling, turn it down to medium/low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Let it cool a bit. (I had to wait for hubby to get back from running errands, one of which was buying more sugar for me, so my juice sat a few hours.) Then strain the juice. You’ll need 4 cups of juice for a batch of jelly. (If you have less than 4 cups of juice…like 3 or so, it will work if you add water to it to make 4 cups, but I wouldn’t use more that one cup of water.)
Place the juice, butter (keeps the jelly from foaming), and pectin powder in the pan. See how big of a pan I use? It’s a must or you are going to get splattered with very hot jelly later in the process. Stir it on high heat until it boils. A full rolling boil.
Add the sugar all at once and stir. Keep stirring until it gets to a full rolling boil like in the picture above. You want it to boil like that for 1 minute. (Keep stirring…you don’t want the bottom to scorch.) Then take it off the heat and set a timer for 5 minutes. During that time I take all my jars very carefully out of the water. I use a long skinny wooden spoon and pair of hefty tongs to do this. I set them on a towel on the counter upside down. Then I set the pan of jelly on a hot pad right next to them on the counter. I also set the lids and bands next to those.
When the five minute timer is up I skim the top of the jelly. There will be a bit of foam, but not nearly as much as if you hadn’t put the butter in. Set a jar next to the pot, put the funnel on, and funnel jelly into the jar leaving 1/4 – 1/2 inch head space. Move on to the next jar until all are full.
Once the jars are all full I wipe the rims of the jars with a hot damp dishrag. You may need more than one, depends on how messy you were filling the jars. *smile* Next take a lid out of the water and dry it off with a clean towel, set it on the jar, take out a band, dry it off, then screw it on the jar. Make sure it’s tight. Set jars upside down on a clean towel. Repeat until all jars are tended to. Place the jars 1 inch apart. Once the last jar is flipped upside down set the timer for 5 minutes. (This helps seal the lids.) After 5 minutes flip them right side up and in an hour or so you’ll hear little pops. Check all the lids in a few hours to make sure the lids are sealed. If you can press on the lid gently and there’s some give then you need to pop that one in fridge and use within a few weeks. There’s no need to process the jelly/jam if your jars, lids and band are sterile and hot and your jelly/jam is hot. I know what some people say. I have done this for a few years now and never had a problem with my jelly/jam.
Note: I did not follow all the directions to Carmen's recipe. I went with my old way to place jars in hot bath for 10 to 12 minutes but the results were great.
Many thanks to Blind Pig and Carmen for this fantastic recipe!!
4 comments:
The peach jelly sounds really interesting and is a great use for those seeds and skins.
That barbed wire is no fun to handle.
That is an interesting use of the pits and skins. I would bet it tastes good too.
Barbed wire? Ouch!
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Sounds yummy. I don't think I would want to wrangle barbed wire anymore at my age. I did it growing up and have the scars to show for it.
Yes, years of making strawberry jam, just as you did, and never a bad batch, even after a year - though seldom had one that long, except a couple of years where strawberries were so cheap, I just kept making more! I love this recipe, and will give it a try. I've been using Pomona's Universal Pectin the last few years, and no sugar most of the time. It gels with the use of calcium instead of sugar. It's more expensive, but then one box makes several batches. Good to know you like the Kroger, though, as they are close by and, in a pinch, I would use that instead. Pomona's isn't available everywhere.
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