I’m kind of late on posting this one as peach season is long gone but I just felt that I had to share this one. Last summer I discovered the joys of jam making. This was born mainly out of the frustration with regular jams being way too sweet and having High Fructose Corn Syrup. Plus, I like a challenge and the fear of contracting botulism really got my blood flowing.
I’m obsessed with Christine Ferber’s jam book entitled Mes Confitures . It is a book dedicated entirely to making wonderful, unique varities of jam. The recipes do call for a lot of sugar but I’ve taken to using Pomona’s Universal Pectin to cut down on my need for sugar.
When the Ontario peaches started rolling over the summer I wanted to make Peach jam and flipping through book I found this great recipe for Peach Jam made with Pinot Noir and Cinnamon. How absolutely lucious does that sound? Peach jam with red wine?? AMAZING.
So I went out, bought me a bottle of pinot noir and went to task. My apartment smelled amazing the entire time the jam was simmering away. Just think — peaches, cinnamon, sugar and wine? That scent needs to be bottled and sold as perfume. Of course as the peaches were cooking I couldn’t help but try to the jam over and over again, it was absolutely irresistible. As mentioned above I substituted about 2 cups of the sugar out in favour of using Pomona’s. The quantity of sugar below is required to not only preserve the fruit but allow the jam to set properly. By using natural pectin I’m able to help the jam set with less sugar.
When I finally decided to pop open a jar I have to admit I was blown away. I had never had jam like this before. I’m not nervous to open up another jar because let’s face it, peach season is another 8 months away, and frankly, I need to pace myself.
Definitely bookmark this recipe for next year. You could probably try with frozen peaches but I don’t think that it would be same at all.
Rating: ***** (out of 5)
Vineyard Peach with Pinot Noir and Cinnamon
2 1/4 pounds vineyard peaches
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups pinot noir
Poach the peaches for 1 minute in a pan of boiling water. Refresh them in ice water. Peel them and halve them, removing the stones and cut each half into 6 sections.
In a preserving pan, combine the peach sections, sugar and cinnamon sticks, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer, and then pour into a bowl. Cover the fruit with a sheet of parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.
Next day, bring this preparation to a boil in a preserving pan, stirring gently. Skim. Continue cooking on high heat 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Lift out the peach sections with a skimmer and divide them among the jar. Add the pinot noir to the cooking syrup and continue cooking on high heat for about 5 minutes. Skim again if needed. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Return to a boil. Check the set. Finish by filling the jars with the syrup and seal.
(From Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber)
