Post by wilderness on Aug 2, 2023 7:30:05 GMT -5
Peach Marmalade-cfniervt
Delicious peach marmalade made with fresh peaches, orange, lemon, maraschino cherries, and a splash of Peach Schnapps. Serve on toast, biscuits, or dolloped onto vanilla custard for a tasty dessert.
Ingredients
7 large peaches, washed
Zest of orange
1 medium-sized orange, seeded and chopped into small pieces
Zest of ½ lemon
½ medium-sized lemon, seeded and chopped into small pieces
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, finely chopped
1½ tbsp Peach Schnapps (optional) or ½ tsp almond flavoring
Granulated sugar equal to amount of fruit pulp
Instructions
Plunge peaches in boiling water for about 1 minute to loosen skin. Peel. Halve the peaches and remove and discard stones. Dice the peaches into small pieces, about ½“ in size. Add the chopped orange and lemon along with the orange and lemon zest. Measure the amount of the peach pulp, orange, and lemon. Add an equal amount of sugar. For example, if the total amount of the pulp equals 4 cups, add 4 cups of sugar.
Place 2-3 freezer-safe saucers in freezer.
Place pulp and sugar into a medium-sized stockpot. Stir. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens and peaches are translucent, stirring occasionally. This could take about an hour, a little more or less*. To test for doneness, place a small amount of marmalade on chilled saucer and swirl saucer around. Let marmalade sit, untouched, for about a minute, then gently push your finger through the marmalade. If the marmalade holds its shape (i.e., does not run back together after the finger has been removed from the marmalade), it is set and ready to bottle. If not, continue to cook mixture, repeating the “chill” test about every 3 minutes or so (always removing the pot from the heat while conducting the chill test) until the marmalade passes the “chill” test. Do not overcook as it will result in a very thick marmalade, dark in color.
Remove pot from heat and skim off any foam that may still remain on the marmalade. Stir in cherries and Peach Schnapps (or almond flavoring). Using a canning funnel, pour marmalade into sterilized jars, leaving about ¼” headroom in each jar. Wipe the jar rims with a clean cloth. Seal jars with heated lids and fingertip-tightened ring bands. Process in boiling water canner, following canner manufacturer’s directions, for 10 minutes. Remove jars from hot water to cooling rack. Listen for the “pop” or “ping” sound as the bottles seal over the next few hours. The lids of properly sealed jars will curve downward. Refrigerate any jars that do not have lids curved downward and use within 1 month.
Yield: Apx. 5 half-pints
*Note that it is difficult to give a precise cooking time for the marmalade since various factors, including the pectin level of the fruit and heat level of stove, can vary significantly and may affect cooking and marmalade-setting times. This is why the “chill” test is the recommended method for determining marmalade setting. It is recommended that the first “chill” test be conducted somewhere around the 45-50 minute point in the cooking process. It does not necessarily mean that the marmalade will be done in that timeframe and more than one “chill” test may need to be performed.
