Because It's Been So Long Peach Butter

Yesterday I woke-up early with the word peaches on my lips, only to fall back to blissful weekend slumber. An hour later, my hopes dashed of obtaining my 20 pound box of "seconds" (they go quickly) we headed to the farmer's market. As luck would have it I arrived late and got my box. "Seconds" incidentally, are the delicious, albeit less-than-perfect peaches sold in bulk for 25 bucks a box. Last year I came the same Forbidden Fruit stall to purchase their lovely fruit. You should see how these guys handle their peaches, like they're little balls of newborn; so tender and filled with promise. This year I decided I wanted to make fruit butter; the less-sugar cousin to jam that goes well with savory dishes as well as toast. Here's how to do it:

Simple Peach Butter
10 lbs. fresh peaches, approximately 25 medium peaches, or 16 C. crushed
5 C. sugar
1 lemon, juiced

Skin peaches by immersing them whole into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove them into a bowl of cool water. While the peaches are cooling, prepare in a large bowl 2 cups of water and the juice of 1 lemon, this will prevent the peaches from browning. Peel and pit the peaches placing them in the lemon water.

In a large (10 quart) stainless steel pot, crush the pitted peaches 1 cup at a time using a potato masher. Keep track of the number of cups of peaches you crush in the event you need to adjust the proportions of sugar to fruit. I’ve read many recipes that call for a ratio of 1/2 cup sugar to 1 cup of crushed fruit. I’ve reduced the amount here as I prefer a fruitier tasting butter; feel free to make your own adjustments.

On medium heat bring the crushed peaches to a boil being careful not to scorch them. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. When the peach/sugar mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and transfer 3/4 of the mixture to shallow baking dishes and place in the preheated oven. Stir the butter every 15 minutes. As it cooks down add the reserved peach/sugar mixture. When the butter mounds nicely in a spoon it’s ready. This will take 1-1 1/2 hours depending on the moisture content of your peaches.

When the butter is at the correct consistency, hot-pack as instructed in my Old Fashioned Raspberry Jam recipe or bottle in sterilized glass containers and once cooled store in the refrigerator. Makes 12, 1/2 pint jars

The Days Are Just Packed

There's a frenzy 'round here; we know summer's nearly up. We're savoring; filling up the days with the river, dipping toes and bodies; cheering our favorite tomatoes into reddening; breathing deeply of wet cement; picking berries; and feigning the reality of shorter days.

Last weekend in the It's beautiful and we gotta get out spirit Eddy and I paid a visit to a nearby lake (one of many) famous for its fishing, Georgtown Lake. We arrived late in the afternoon with plenty of time to set camp and fix dinner.

Near the lake I found the most charming strawberries that when stuffed into the cavity of half-eaten chocolate croissant, became dessert. So good. Bellies full of campfire steak and berries we slept to a neighboring campsite's guitar.

We headed for home the next morning, stopping in Phillipsberg a tiny main-street-drag of a town with an impressive candy shop. The cool dimly lit interior reeked of everything sweet.
Surprisingly there were few kids in the shop, mostly adults eyes-wide scanning sugar in hundreds of forms.

The onslaught of sugar took the most extreme proportions behind the sales counter, where the candy making at its best is conveniently demonstrated as you wait in line. Salt water taffy is stretched, truffles dipped in vats of liquid ganache, and bricks of homemade fudge are sliced and weighed. I left amped with a bag full of candy.

We returned to Missoula with a time to spare and I ended the day by picking organic raspberries at a fundraising event hosted at the Common Ground Farm. Every year at the end of the season you can pay ten bucks to pick pick all the berries you want. I went with a couple a friends and by 9:44 we had collected 30 pounds of fruit.

The next day I made a batch of Old Fashioned Raspberry Jam.

Below's the recipe; banish your fears of canning and try it out. The process is a simpler than it seems and by the end of it you will have an entirely renewed appreciation for canning plus half-pint reminders of summer packed days.

Old Fashioned Raspberry Jam
Makes 4, half-pint jars
adapted from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp & Margaret Howard

4 C. raspberries (fresh or frozen)
4 C. sugar
4 half-pint canning jars with lids and rings

Wash 4 half-pint canning jars and rest them on a cake rack at the bottom of a tall stock pot. Cover the jars with at least 1 inch of water and bring to a soft boil. (A rack can be improvised by tying several canning rings together with string.) Keep a kettle of water on the boil to sterilize lids later.

Place sugar in a shallow baking dish in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes. (Warming the sugar makes it dissolve more readily.)

Place the berries into a medium-sized heavy bottomed pot and place on high heat. Use a potato masher to crush the fruit. Bring to a full rolling boil for 1 min, stirring constantly.

Add the warm sugar to the hot berries and return to a full boil until the mixture gels, stirring to avoid scorching.

Gelling can be tested a few ways: 1.) When a candy thermometer reads 220 degrees 2.) When a cold teaspoon dipped into the syrup collects on the edge of the spoon and sheets rather than dripping off 3.) Using a chilled plate, place a dollop of hot jam and return it to the freezer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes push the cooled jam with your finger and if the surface wrinkles it’s ready to be packed. You can also tilt the plate to see if the jam moves, if it moves very slowly it’s ready. The time it takes for the raspberries to reach gel stage varies anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes depending on the moisture content in your fruit. Remove jam from heat.

Place canning lids (not rings) in a bowl and cover with boiling water. The lids need to stand for a couple of minutes to soften the sealant material. Use a canning jar lifter, or tongs to lift your hot jar, pouring all of the water out.

Pour jam into a glass measuring cup to ease filling the jam jars leaving a 1/2″ of headspace. Clean up any dribbles on lip of the jar using a clean dishtowel dipped in boiling water. Grab a hot lid using a pair of tongs and place on the jar, screw on the canning ring until just snug. You want to avoid screwing the band on too tightly as air needs to escape later. Fill remaining jars.

Carefully lower the filled jars into the stock pot. Arrange the jars so that they stand upright and do not touch. Make sure the jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a strong boil process for 10 minutes. Higher elevations may need to add more time, these can be looked up online.

After 10 minutes turn off the heat and allow the jars to remain in the hot water for 5 more minutes.

Remove jars from water and place on a cutting board in an undisturbed spot. They should seal if not immediately, in 12-24 hours. You should hear a sucking sound and the lid will be concaved in the middle. In the event the jars don’t seal consume the jam immediately and store in the refrigerator. Properly canned jam can be stored up to a year in cool dark spot.