Make Jam

I love the abundance of summer seasonal fruit, particularly stone fruit. And Mother Nature has been particularly generous this year as the peaches have been absolutely divine. Because they’ve been so abundant, and as a result well priced, I thought it was time I revisited Peach and Passionfruit Jam; a beautiful creation, the origins of which come from the Country Women’s Association (CWA) Preserves cookbook, but which I found a few years ago shared by Liz on Bizzy Lizzy’s Good Things

Summery deliciousness

It’s a divine jam, which for me epitomises the delicious sweetness of summer, and draws out summer memories despite the shortening of the days and cooling of the nights. My only disappointment is a jar just doesn’t last long enough.

Do you love seasonal cooking? Have you a favourite recipe you can’t wait to revisit each year?

Peach and Passionfruit Jam*

Makes around 8-10 cups

1.25 kg yellow peaches, peeled and cut into small dice
1.25 kg sugar (you can use less than this for a tarter finish)
Juice of ½ medium lemon (Liz used the whole lemon and so did I)
pulp from 12 passionfruit

Arrange your peaches in a bowl layered with some of the sugar. Leave overnight and refrigerate if you like. [Note: this step may be optional. The last time I made it I was short on time and simply left the fruit and sugar for a couple of hours. My jam was still perfect.]

In a heavy based pan, cook your peaches. While the peaches are cooking, pre-warm remaining sugar. Add warm sugar along with the warmed lemon juice and passionfruit pulp once peaches are soft. Boil quickly until it jells when tested. Pop a saucer in the freezer to test this.

Pour jam into sterilised jars and seal [I always make an absolute mess when I do this. Liz recommended carefully transferring the jam to a large pyrex jug and it worked a treat]. Store your jam in a cool, dark place, it should keeps for at least 12 months and up to 2 years – not sure who could ever keep it this long, just eat it!

*Original recipe adapted from Country Women’s Association (CWA) Preserves: Traditional, Tempting, Tried-and-True (Penguin)