Jammin

Though I loathe the end of summer,  it does have a few perks- like fresh, local fruit. Washington State has some of the best late summer and fall fruit around- peaches, apples, pears and the invasive, but delicious blackberry.

This was peach jam weekend. My mom has been canning and making jam as long as I can remember, so under her watchful eye she kept me from setting the kettle ablaze and kept everything humming as the all the steps need to be done quickly and in the right order.

This was my third time making jam. I use plain old Sure-Jell brand.  I tried a lower-sugar brand a couple of years ago, but my jam ended up molding within a few months- way to much work for moldy jam. So I’m back to the sugar bomb.

The ratio of sugar to fruit is a bit alarming- 5 1/2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of fruit puree- but hey, it’s a condiment! And I won’t be eating mouthfuls so I’m okay with it.

My favorite way to use peach jam is to lightly toast fresh bread or English muffis, dab on a bit of Earth Balance buttery spread and a generous spoonful of jam. You can’t beat it. My other favorite is a tweak on the Pioneer Woman’s Apricot Bars. These are amazing bars- though I haven’t tried to veganize them yet. I’ll give that a try and post an update.