Forget the old adage of ‘When life hand you lemons, make lemonade.’ This month I’m going with ‘When life hands you peaches, make this Bourbon Peach Jam with Vanilla Bean.’ And life has handed me a ton of peaches! Perfect timing for this week’s Food Network theme for #SummerSoiree. You want peaches…we’ve got peaches. Be sure to check out the recipes from other participants at the bottom of the post.

Maybe one of Colorado’s best kept secrets is our amazing peaches. Not produced in the abundance that Georgia peaches are, they are mostly shipped to all points in Colorado and though not heralded like their southern cousins, they should be! Grown on the Western Slope (the west side of the Rockies), they are subjected to warm days and cool night and that makes them sweet and juicy and seriously the best I’ve ever had. I decided to include some Fireside Bourbon from Mile High Spirits; made in Colorado of course!

One thing that would typically keep me from making this jam might be the tedium of peeling 20 peaches. But wait!! Peaches (and tomatoes) are actually so easy to peel. Simply cut a crosshatch in the bottom and blanch them for 1 minute in boiling water. Remove them from the water and dunk them in a big bowl of ice water to cool and voila…the peel will have started to curl back where it was cut and it’s as easy as just slipping that sucker off!

I first tried it on an English Muffin and then I had English Muffins for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then I tasted some on vanilla ice cream. I believe swoon would be the word. This week I’m going to use a jar to make the peach barbecue sauce in this recipe for smoked chicken. It was good with store-bought peach preserves; I can’t wait to try it with homemade Bourbon Peach Jam!

I call them drip down your chin peaches; that pretty much sums up how they are eaten…unless you take a bit of time and make this A-MAY-ZING peach jam. How good is it? I made 6 pounds of peaches into jam and I swear I’m going to have to hide it from myself. I’m giving it away to protect the innocent (me) from finishing it all off in the first week. Bourbon, vanilla bean and brown sugar are so perfect with peaches there simply are no adequate words…OK, maybe yummaliciousness works but still does not completely convey how stunning this jam is.

Serves Six half-pint jars

Bourbon Peach Jam with Vanilla Bean

30 min Prep Time

30 min Cook Time

1 hr Total Time

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Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds ripe peaches
• 3 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 vanilla bean, 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 3/4 cup bourbon, divided
• One (6-ounce) box liquid pectin (two foil packets)

Instructions

1. Prepare the jars and lids: place six clean half-pint jars on a tray and put into a 225 degree oven; keep war, until ready to fill.
2. Put the bands and lids into a medium saucepan and cover with water. Heat over medium heat until the water is simmering, then remove the pan from heat and keep the bands and lids in the hot water until ready to use.

To Prepare the Peaches:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill another large bowl with ice water. Cut an X into the bottom of each peach and drop them into the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove the peaches from the hot water and immediately plunge them into the ice water.Once cool, pull off skin and chop the peaches. Transfer HALF of them to a blender and pulse just until they are coarsely pureed. You should have about 4 cups of puree.Put a large pot for canning on the stove filled with water and heat on high.Put both the pureed and chopped peaches in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add both sugars, lemon juice, lime juice, 1/2 cup of the bourbon, vanilla and butter.Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Add the pectin and return the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute.Add the remaining bourbon and let boil for a few seconds.Turn off heat and let mixture settle; skim any foam from the surface with a metal spoon. Discard the vanilla bean if used.Remove the jars from the oven and ladle the hot jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars, cover with lids, and screw bands on until just barely tight.Place the jars on a rack in the canning pot with boiling water and cover the pot. When the water in the pot returns to a boil, boil for 10 minutes for half pint jars and 15 minutes for full pints.Turn off heat, remove jars from pot and allow them to rest undisturbed on countertop for six hours or overnight.Preserved jam will keep for up to one year in a cool, dark place.If you choose to not preserve the jam, it will keep refrigerated for about 6 months in the fridge.

Notes

I had more than six jars of jam; so I was scrambling to prepare more jars and lids. I would suggest you over estimate and have a couple of extra jars ready.

Also, don't be intimidated by the notion of canning. I am a 'small batch' canner. Meaning I don't have a lot of specialty equipment. I use a large stockpot for the canning process and I've simply bought a trivet meant for cooling cakes to put into the bottom of it to keep the jars stable in boiling water. Before I found them? I put a kitchen towel in the water and it worked too.

Get a jar gripper though and a funnel for the jars; they both do simplify the task of both filling the jars and getting them into and out of the hot water. Most grocery stores have a canning section with any supplies you would need including jars, lids and the SureJell pectin.. Try it...you'll like it!

6.6.12

http://www.creative-culinary.com/bourbon-peach-jam-vanilla-bean/

Creative Culinary

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• TasteBook: Peach Bruschetta with Prosciutto
• In Jennie’s Kitchen: Peach Blueberry Tart
• Taste with the Eyes: One Ingredient Transforms The Classic Greek Salad (peaches)
• The Mom 100: Plum and Nectarine Crisp
• The Lemon Bowl: Peaches and Cream Overnight Oats
• FN Dish: 10 Things to Make with Summer Peaches Before It’s Too Late

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