Perfectly Practiced Preservation Part III, Scrumptious Spiced Vanilla Peach Jam

It is getting to be my favorite time of year, peach season. Peach season reminds me of the warm ripe days of summer, lightning bugs, lakes, and my birthday, mmmm. I tell you later about my absolute favorite way to eat peaches, when the are really really ripe. For now I'm talking about jam. Again I know, but it's my blog and I love homemade jam. What can I say?

So what makes soupy fruit soup become gel like jam? There isn't any cornstarch or gelatin, but there is something else, pectin. Pectin is a naturally occurring heteropolysaccharide found in the cell walls of non-woody dry land plants (as opposed to water plants). It's a long word, so I'll break it down. Saccharide = sugar. Sugars a usually chains (like beads on a string) but sometimes they become rings instead. Poly = many. When a lot of these rings get together they make a chain of rings called a polysaccharide. Hetero = different. So a heteropolysaccharide is a long chain of different sugar rings. Citrus fruits, like lemons have lots of pectin.

When the a jam mixture starts to cool down the water and the sugar get together leaving the pectin all alone. The pectin the groups together and bonds to itself creating our favorite colloid, the gel. Word to the wise, do not reduce sugar in any jam recipes or you will end up with soup instead of jam.

This jam recipe combines my new love for homemade jams, my old love of vanilla, and my summer love of peaches. It's a lot of love, and this jam is so totally worth it.

Spicy Vanilla-Peach Jam

Ingredients

5 cups peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped fresh peaches

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

9 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 vanilla beans

1 pouch (3 oz) liquid fruit pectin

Process the peaches in a blender until finely chopped. In a large heavy stockpot, combine peaches and lemon juice. Stir in sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Split vanilla beans and scrap seeds into peach mixture Add vanilla beans. Stirring constantly, cook over low heat 4 minutes. Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Stir in liquid pectin. Stirring constantly, bring to a rolling boil again and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; skim off foam. Remove vanilla beans. Can using the jar directions (~10 half pints). After cans are sealed place in a pot with enough water to cover the lids about 1/4 inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.