this past summer, i tried my hand at making jam for the very first time and it was a lot of fun! we had a gazillion peaches from our tree in the yard and every year i struggle to do something with them before they all rot. and thus, July’s peach jammin’ was born. well, earlier this week, with (still) a gazillion apples from our apple picking day back in September, i figured the time had come again to pull out the jelly jars and get some of this fruit off my kitchen counter. it was taking up way too much space, plus those fruit flies kept swarming my wine, y’all. and you know that wasn’t gonna last long with me.
to keep things simple, i just used the recipe on the pectin container. well, i mean, basically. y’all know i can never follow a recipe just the way it’s written! here’s what i did to end up with 5 half pints. i’m thrilled with the results and excited to share with house guests and give as gifts over the next month or so. give it a try if you’ve got some apples and let me know what you think!
4 cups diced apples (i used a mix of Granny Smith & Fuji since that’s what i had) 3 tablespoons lemon juice 4 ½ tablespoons Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin 4 cups granulated sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup light brown sugar ½ – 1 tablespoon cinnamon (to taste) ½ – 1 tablespoon nutmeg (to taste)
combine fruit and lemon juice in an 8-quart saucepan. gradually stir in pectin. add butter. bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. add sugar, stirring to dissolve. return mixture to a full rolling boil. boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. remove from heat. (at this point, i broke down most of the fruit with a hand blender. i just found that i liked the peach better not quite as chunky, so figured this would be the same.) skim foam if necessary. ladle into hot jars. cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. refrigerate and enjoy up to 3 weeks.