Column from August 26, 2010

Preparing for autumn weather

It’s hard to believe fall is just around the corner. We’re already seeing shorter days, cooler nights and back-to-school specials at the stores.

One advantage to fall, however, is the abundance of fresh tree fruits in our area. In fact, the top agriculture commodity for Washington state is apples. 

Here in Adams County, our farmers contribute $344 million dollars annually to the state’s $38 billion food and agriculture economy. Our top three crops are wheat, potatoes and apples.

A popular crop that will be ready for harvest soon is peaches. There’s nothing as sweet or as juicy as a peach fresh off the tree.

And you can do so much with them – cobbler, pie, fruit salads and jams and jellies.

The one drawback, as far as I can tell, is the fuzzy skin on a peach. I’ve known several people who just can’t tolerate it. Personally, it’s OK by me, but it is necessary to remove the peel if you’re baking with peaches or when you make jams or jellies.

Peaches are simple to peel. Just dip them for a few seconds in a pot of boiling water. The skin will split and easily peel away from the fruit.

Canning peaches is very simple, too. All you have to do is fill up quart jars, add some sugar to taste and pour in boiling water to cover. Then, process in a water bath canner for about 20 minutes.

You might want to wait until the temperatures begin to cool down, though. We are still having hot days and canning is definitely one way to heat up your house.

But is you do have peaches that need some attention, you could try making freezer jam. It’s quick and easy and because you’ll be putting the jars in the freezer, you don’t have to heat up the kitchen with canning.

I found this unique recipe recently and I’ll be trying it this fall. It’s the first time I’ve seen vanilla bean added to peach jam and I’m willing to bet it adds an interesting flavor.

Remember, as always, if you want your jam to set properly, be sure to follow the recipe exactly and measure carefully. This recipe will make eight half-pint jars or four pint jars of freezer jam.

Peach freezer jam

2-¾ cups finely chopped peeled and pitted ripe peaches (about 2-¼ pounds)
6-½ cups sugar
2 pouches (1 box) Sure Jell Liquid Pectin
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and cut into 8 small pieces

Combine the peaches and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sugar should be almost dissolved.

In a separate bowl, combine the pectin and lemon juice.

Stir the pectin mixture into the peach-sugar mixture and stir constantly until the sugar is no longer grainy and is almost completely dissolved, about three minutes. Add the almond extract and the vanilla bean seeds and stir to combine.

Spoon the jam into clean half-pint or pint-size jars. Place one piece of vanilla bean inside of each jar. Cover the jars and let stand at room temperature until jam is set, up to 24 hours.

Place the jam in the freezer and use as needed. Freezer jam should be consumed within one year. Jam may also be stored in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.