Sunday, September 12, 2010

Peach Butter

I made peach butter this week. I was going to follow the directions in the Ball Blue Book, really I was. I just didn't have enough peaches. So, I adjusted the recipe and did it my own way with delicious results.

First, I peeled my peaches. I didn't want to take time to dip them in boiling water. I just took my knife and peeled just the skin off carefully. Then I took the pulp off with my hands, breaking it up as I went. This saved chopping time. I measured two cups of pulp and three cups of sugar into my three quart saucepan. I added one tablespoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cloves.

I brought this to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. I then turned it down to low and let it simmer all day. I stirred it ocassionally as I passed through the kitchen. While I was busy in the kitchen, I turned the heat back up to medium to speed it along. Then, I turned it back to low when I left the kitchen. I let it cook down until it rounded up on my wooden spoon.

The fragrance was better than any potpourri or candle I've ever burned. When evening came, I didn't feel like doing a boiling water bath. So, I simply put it in canning jars and put it in the fridge to cool. It made 3 pints. I kept one out to enjoy; and, I put the other two in the freezer the next morning to enjoy this winter.

It's going to be so very nice to open up a jar of late summer when the weather outside is frightful.

Have a wonderful Sabbath Sunday! We'll be celebrating my Emily's 13th birthday with friends.

Laura
Buttering and Jamming!


6 comments:

  1. Hi Laura!

    Your peach butter sounds delightful! I actually think that freezing keeps the flavor better, so what a good idea! I love to make small batches with just myself and my husband at home, can't wait to try this!

    Happy birthday to Emily!! We also have an Emily, I'm sure your is as sweet as ours!

    Hugs,
    Barb

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  2. I can teach you how to do it without a water bath and it still seals if you want. Send me an email or ask next time you see me.
    JuLinda

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  3. Tahnk you for sharing this recipe with us. At our house we make apple butter almost the same way but after I have cooked the apples down and pressed through the strainer, we slow cook it in the crockpot for 24 hrs. For the last 2 hrs, we add in the sugar and spices to cook into the applebutter. And one other thing, since the applebutter is so boiling hot when it is done, we laddled it into hot jars, seal right away and let them sit on the counter to cool. At that point, the jars seal themselves and no hotwater bath is needed. We only do our applebutter this way. My MIL did it this way for over 60 something yrs and it is still working for us.

    I just thought I would share that with you. I hope you dont' mind.

    Pat

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  4. Oh wow..I had no idea you could put stuff in jars in then freeze them!! So not being a huge canning officianado, did you just let the tops seal then refrigerate them overnight and then freeze them? I am amazed and I love your blog!! Thanks for sharing. You are inspiring me to can again!!

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  5. This sounds really delicious. I have a bag of peaches sitting right now that are a bit mushy on the inside and I'm thinking this peach butter will be the perfect way to use them up!

    Thanks!

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  6. Hi, Laura~

    Your peach butter sounds amazing. Sometimes the best results come from when we don't follow the recipe!

    Blessings~
    Laura

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