Almond Peach Jam...Sunshine on a Spoon

            I made peach jam for the first time today. I still had some left over South Carolina peaches still left that no one had eaten yet. I added some almond extract, and this stuff tastes fabulous! Even my 23 yr old daughter, who said she didn't like peach jam, liked it... really well!
            So I peeled, pitted and mashed them. I came up with about 3.5 cups, which was about 1/2 a cup short for my 4 cup recipe. So I added a 1/2 cup of orange juice. The jam set up beautifully, and so crystal clear and gorgeous. There are a few dark reddish/black flecks here and there. Don't start gagging. They aren't bugs,lol. ( I notice the dark flecks aren't visible in this jar.) It's just that I had cooked some blackberries for jelly just before this, and didn't bother to rinse my masher off completely. The addition of the almond extract, it a wonderful compliment.

                                                            Almond-Peach Jam

4 cups peeled, pitted, and crushed yellow peaches ( I added 1/2 OJ to 3.5 c fruit)
1/4 cup strained fresh lemon juice
7 and 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp butter
1 (3 oz) pouch liquid pectin
1 tsp Almond extract

     Cut fruits, in half, remove the pit, and the tough reddish area that surrounds the pit. Drop these into an 8 qt pan with the lemon juice to prevent darkening. Crush these with a potato masher.

Stir in half of the sugar. Cover pan, and let sit 20 minutes. In the mean time, place your jelly jars in a pot of water to sterilize.

     Remove cover and stir in remaining sugar. and butter. Over medium-low heat, stir till sugar is dissolved. Then increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a full rolling boil. Remove pan from heat and skim away any foam.

     Return pan to heat and bring back to a full rolling boil. Stir in pectin, and reheat to full rolling boil. Stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and skim foam again. Add 1 tsp of almond extract.

     Cool 5 minutes, stirring every minute. Remove your jars from the pot and set out on a towel. Place your lids into the boiling water and leave till ready. Fill  your jars using a funnel. Clean the rims of your jars and place hot lids on. Hand tighten rings on jars, and place jars in your boiling water bath, with water cover the tops. Process for 10 minutes (depending on your altitude) at 200 degrees. Remove jars and set on towel undisturbed for 24 hours. Then remove rings, label, and store. This makes 8 half pint jelly jars. I think I had about 1/8 cup left over that I placed in a container in the fridge.
     The basis for this recipe, I believe came from the book, "Blue Ribbon Preserves" which I checked out from the library.
     This stuff is fantastic. I love it on toast, but I have also used store bought peach jam in my sweet and sour chicken. Now I can use my own.