Canning is Cool Again, Redux: Peach Jalapeño Bourbon Jam

Yep, another rerun, but I just got the most wonderful late peaches and a bag of Jalapeño peppers at the Farmers Market. Guess what I'm making again? Too good to not have a few jars stashed in the pantry.

Canning is cool again. At work, we have just about run out of canning supplies. I think there are just two jar lifters lurking on the shelf, and most of the jars are gone. Canning is cool again, really. Not just because Marisa McClellan's new book Food in Jars is out, but even Rachael Ray has given over a two-page spread in her July - August 2012 issue of her magazine to canning. I hate to admit it, but I think my canning pot and rack are older than either of them are. They came used, from a yard sale in about 1982, and have been dragged out each spring with the first good berries ever since. I even have gone so far as to need and use a pressure canner, too. Seems like everything comes in cycles, and canning is back.

If you garden, you'll likely have to start canning once the freezer is full. That's how I started. We bought our first home with enough room for a decent garden at the side, and suddenly there were beans and tomatoes. Lots of beans and tomatoes. No one on either Hub's side of the family or mine ever canned anything, so armed with a copy of a Ball Blue Book, and another book called "Putting Food By", I dove in. Made plenty of messes, got a few splatter burns, but turned out lots of good food in jars. I wrote copy in an ad agency in those days, and the owner's wife, Josie Renner, shared her bread and butter pickle recipe and a lot of old-fashioned canning tips with me back then. While Josie Renner is long gone, I like to think that she knows how much her pickles are still loved 30 years later. I was lucky to find a good canning mentor. Now you can Google excellent canning instructions, though it isn't the same as having a real person to help you.

This year, everyone seems to be making strawberry jam, a worthy endeavor indeed, but around here, strawberries are just about kaput for the local season. The peach season is coming up fast, though, and if your garden is at all like mine, just about the only crop with NO insect or animal munching on it is hot peppers. This jam is a triple delight; sweet, spicy and just a bit boozy. It's also quick to make, and if you are just starting out as a home-canner, it'll make you look like a real pro. The only down side is that everyone will love it so much, they'll expect it every year, so be sure to stash a jar or two for yourself.

Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Notes: Leave out the pepper seeds for a less hot end result, for even less heat cut back to two peppers without seeds. Some of the technique and most the proportions here are straight off the pectin package; don’t fool around with that or your jam won’t set up properly. Fiddle with it and you’ll end up with Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Syrup, not Jam. Ask me how I’ve learned this. Ahem.

If you don’t have a food processor, coarsely hand-chop your peaches and peppers, cook with everything except the pectin until soft, and run through a food mill fitted with the medium disc. Then bring back to a hard boil and add the pectin and proceed as in step 4. Won’t be as “purty” but it’ll taste swell.

Two canning tools that will make your life easier: A water bath canning pot and a set of canning tools.

Ingredients

Makes 8 half-pints and a taster jar. Nice with creamy cheese on a slab of homemade bread, or on a bland turkey sandwich, lol.

• 3 1/2 pounds ripe peaches, blanched and skinned
• 7 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup good quality bourbon
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 whole red jalapeno peppers
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• One half (6-ounce) package liquid pectin (one foil packet)

Procedures

1. Place six half-pint jars on a rack in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the jars, and boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and allow the jars to rest in the hot water. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and slide in the bands and flat tops. Turn off the heat and let stand until ready to use. Bring an extra medium pot to a low boil and keep simmering.
2. Pit and coarsely chop the peaches. Place in a food processor and pulse just until just short of a puree.
3.  Cut the stems off the jalapenos, remove the seeds if you want milder jam, and then chop roughly in the food processor. You want 1/8” pieces.
4. Tie the cinnamon stick and the cloves together in a single layer of cheesecloth. Add everything except the pectin to a big, heavy pot, and cook the mixture until the peaches are soft. Bring the peach mixture to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Add the pectin, and return the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute. Remove the pot from the heat and skim any foam from the surface with a metal spoon. Discard the cinnamon and cloves in their cheesecloth wrap.
5. Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp paper towel, cover with the lids and screw bands, and gently tighten by hand. Place the jars on the rack in the large pot and cover completely with water from the medium pot you’ve had on simmer. Cover pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Start timing when the water boils hard. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the jars rest in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove the jars from pot with a jar lifter or canning tongs and allow them to rest undisturbed on countertop for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Processed jam will keep for about one year in a cool, dark place. Unprocessed jam will keep in the refrigerator for about six months.

Fee, Fie, Foe, Friday: Berry Frustrating?

Well, Friday is my rant day, and I am going to rant.  (I am lucky to have this problem...) I have homegrown strawberries, just not enough to make jam. Because we keep eating them. Tough, huh?
I won't be picking any today since it's raining buckets, and will continue, thanks to the remnants of tropical storm Andrea feeding into the front we already have. Damn.

So I'm simply going to rant about having to find some delicious  use, and quickly for the berries I have. They're a variety, Mara des Bois, that is very fragile, and don't hold up well for storing. Which is why you rarely will ever see these in farmers markets.  I have to make something. Today. Bake something? Freeze? Oy. All of them are "work". Or fattening.

All our troubles should be like this. Berry frustrating!

Hmm. Enough here for two strawberry tarts.

Canning is Cool Again: Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Canning is cool again. At work, we have just about run out of canning supplies. I think there are just two jar lifters lurking on the shelf, and most of the jars are gone. Canning is cool again, really. Not just because Marisa McClellan's new book Food in Jars is out, but even Rachael Ray has given over a two-page spread in her July - August 2012 issue of her magazine to canning. I hate to admit it, but I think my canning pot and rack are older than either of them are. They came used, from a yard sale in about 1982, and have been dragged out each spring with the first good berries ever since. I even have gone so far as to need and use a pressure canner, too. Seems like everything comes in cycles, and canning is back.

If you garden, you'll likely have to start canning once the freezer is full. That's how I started. We bought our first home with enough room for a decent garden at the side, and suddenly there were beans and tomatoes. Lots of beans and tomatoes. No one on either Hub's side of the family or mine ever canned anything, so armed with a copy of a Ball Blue Book, and another book called "Putting Food By", I dove in. Made plenty of messes, got a few splatter burns, but turned out lots of good food in jars. I wrote copy in an ad agency in those days, and the owner's wife, Josie Renner, shared her bread and butter pickle recipe and a lot of old-fashioned canning tips with me back then. While Josie Renner is long gone, I like to think that she knows how much her pickles are still loved 30 years later. I was lucky to find a good canning mentor. Now you can Google excellent canning instructions, though it isn't the same as having a real person to help you.

This year, everyone seems to be making strawberry jam, a worthy endeavor indeed, but around here, strawberries are just about kaput for the local season. The peach season is coming up fast, though, and if your garden is at all like mine, just about the only crop with NO insect or animal munching on it is hot peppers. This jam is a triple delight; sweet, spicy and just a bit boozy. It's also quick to make, and if you are just starting out as a home-canner, it'll make you look like a real pro. The only down side is that everyone will love it so much, they'll expect it every year, so be sure to stash a jar or two for yourself.

Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Jam

Notes: Leave out the pepper seeds for a less hot end result, for even less heat cut back to two peppers without seeds. Some of the technique and most the proportions here are straight off the pectin package; don’t fool around with that or your jam won’t set up properly. Fiddle with it and you’ll end up with Peach Jalapeno Bourbon Syrup, not Jam. Ask me how I’ve learned this. Ahem.

If you don’t have a food processor, coarsely hand-chop your peaches and peppers, cook with everything except the pectin until soft, and run through a food mill fitted with the medium disc. Then bring back to a hard boil and add the pectin and proceed as in step 4. Won’t be as “purty” but it’ll taste swell.

Two canning tools that will make your life easier: A water bath canning pot and a set of canning tools.

Ingredients

Makes 8 half-pints and a taster jar. Nice with creamy cheese on a slab of homemade bread, or on a bland turkey sandwich, lol.

• 3 1/2 pounds ripe peaches, blanched and skinned
• 7 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup good quality bourbon
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 whole red jalapeno peppers
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• One half (6-ounce) package liquid pectin (one foil packet)

Procedures

1. Place six half-pint jars on a rack in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the jars, and boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and allow the jars to rest in the hot water. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and slide in the bands and flat tops. Turn off the heat and let stand until ready to use. Bring an extra medium pot to a low boil and keep simmering.
2. Pit and coarsely chop the peaches. Place in a food processor and pulse just until just short of a puree.
3.  Cut the stems off the jalapenos, remove the seeds if you want milder jam, and then chop roughly in the food processor. You want 1/8” pieces.
4. Tie the cinnamon stick and the cloves together in a single layer of cheesecloth. Add everything except the pectin to a big, heavy pot, and cook the mixture until the peaches are soft. Bring the peach mixture to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Add the pectin, and return the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute. Remove the pot from the heat and skim any foam from the surface with a metal spoon. Discard the cinnamon and cloves in their cheesecloth wrap.
5. Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims of the jars with a damp paper towel, cover with the lids and screw bands, and gently tighten by hand. Place the jars on the rack in the large pot and cover completely with water from the medium pot you’ve had on simmer. Cover pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Start timing when the water boils hard. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the jars rest in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove the jars from pot with a jar lifter or canning tongs and allow them to rest undisturbed on countertop for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Processed jam will keep for about one year in a cool, dark place. Unprocessed jam will keep in the refrigerator for about six months.

Hot or Not: Apricot Bacon Jam

Apricots, bacon and peppers, oh, my!

I found these lovely apricots in the market a week ago. They're newly in season, and it's about the only time of year they are delicious as they don't travel so well from too far away.  Wanted to do a blog post on grilling them for the Memorial Day weekend. Stuff happens and the apricots, half of them now too soft to grill, are still sitting in my fruit bowl. I figured I'd just turn them into a bit of jam for our breakfasts for the next few days and hit some of my favorite blogs for inspiration. While I was reading through Lisa Fain's take on apricot jam, on her blog Homesick Texan, I also saw a link at the bottom of her page to the recipe for her famous Bacon Jam, and a little switch went off in my brain. Apricot Bacon Jam. Why not? God knows I always have enough bacon in my freezer to feed a platoon.

This isn't a traditional spread-on-toast sort of jam, this is more of a condiment or a chutney, good on bread, crackers, with cheese, with beer...and will be divine on the turkey breast sandwich I'm taking with me to work tonight. Actually, I think I may also have some tomorrow, spread on toast, with scrambled eggs for breakfast. So much for this not being a breakfast jam.

Just a little snack before lunch.

Notes:  Hot or not is your pick, although I suggest using just half of a seeded jalapeno pepper if you don't want any obvious heat. If you want hot, leave in the seeds, and use up to 2, although if they are as hot as the current batch at my market, I think that would overpower the other flavors and suggest sticking to one pepper, seeded and minced. If you can get double smoked bacon, you could cut back on the smoked paprika to keep it from being too smokey.

Apricot Bacon Jam, Hot or Not
Makes about 3 cups

8 oz. smoky sliced bacon, in 1/2" bits
1 large yellow onion, 1/4" dice

1 large red bell pepper, seeded, in 1/4 " dice

2-3 big garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 lb. fresh apricots, pitted and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 sprigs thyme, bundled with butchers twine
1-2 big, hot Jalapeno peppers, minced (see note)
1 Tblsp kosher salt
2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika

Place the bacon in an unheated, shallow, deep pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Slowly render out the fat and cook the bacon until it is nice and brown. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon or skimmer to a bowl and set aside. Remove all but about 3 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pan and discard, (or set aside for other cooking).

Add the bell pepper, the onion and garlic to the hot bacon fat and stir well, and cook until the vegetables have begun to soften and the onions are starting to look golden. Add everything else, including the cooked bacon and stir well. Bring up to a gentle boil, and cook until the jam will mound on a spoon. Let cool slightly, spoon into jars or a bowl and chill.

Will keep about 2 weeks covered and refrigerated.