PEACH JAM

Mmm! Don't you just love fresh peaches when they are in season? I sure do! The Lord really blessed me this year with a sweet little peach "crop." I have one lonely peach tree in my side yard, but it bore over 100 peaches this year! Some of them were a little small, but still nice and sweet. I was amazed. The same thing happened with my grape vines - it was a bumper crop. I couldn't even GIVE them all away, there were so many. We harvested the peaches, my daughter, Sarah, arranged them so pretty in a basket. I finally got to them this week, and made up a batch of peach jam. It turned out soooo yummy, that I'm thinking about making another batch, because I just KNOW that most of this one will be used for gift giving.

PEACH JAM

3 lbs fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and finely chopped
Juic of 3 lemons (or 1/3 cup real lemon juice)
7 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin

Bring boiling water canner, half full with water to a simmer. Wash jars, lids and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling. Prepare fruit. If using food processor, pulse to chop. DO NOT PUREE. Jam should have bits of fruit in it. Measure exact amount of prepared fruit into 6 or 8 quart saucepan. Stir in lemon juice and sugar. Add 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon. Ladle quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2 piece lid and ring set. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed. *(I use a dutch oven to process my jars of jelly & jam, and it works just fine). Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process jams 10 minutes; jelly 5 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store unopened jams and jellies in cool, dry, dark place up to 1 year. Refrigerate opened jams and jellies up to 3 weeks.

CONCORD GRAPE JELLY

Mmm! I wish you could smell it in here right now. Homemade Concord grape jelly! There is no comparison between it and store bought jelly. It's just the best. Yes, it's a lot of work, but the end result is so worth it! So far I am up to 45 half pints and I STILL have grapes on hand to use up! (Think Christmas gifts!) The Lord really blessed me this year with a huge bounty of grapes.
If you've never taken the time to learn how to make jelly, you really should try it, just once, even if it's just to say you've done it. Your kids will love you for it!

CONCORD GRAPE JELLY

3 lb Concord grapes (3 lbs equals about 3 1/2 cups of grapes)
7 cups white sugar
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin

*SPECIAL NOTE* Do not try to make more than one batch at a time in your pan. Your jelly won't turn out right. Yes, I speak from experience.

Prepare your jelly jars by washing and rinsing them in hot water. Sterilize your lids and bands in boiling hot water as well.

First, gather your grapes. If you have a bounty, be sure to share. Invite some friends or family to come and pick with you. I gathered what I thought I needed, and then Wednesday night after prayer meeting, I turned people loose on the vines. The teens were picking bags full for any adult that wanted grapes. It was nice to find a home for some of them, rather than seeing them go to waste.Next, sort, discard stems, and wash your grapes. Place 3 lbs (about 3 1/2 cups) of your washed grapes in a large dutch oven. Pour in 1/2 cup hot water and bring to a boil.As soon as your grapes start boiling, they will start creating lots of juice and the skins will slip off of them easily. At this point, crush them with a potato masher or ricer.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.


Place a food mill over a glass bowl and carefully pour in 1/2 of your grape juice mixture. Process through the food mill until only pulp remains in the mill and the juice is in the bottom bowl. Pour remaining 1/2 of grape juice mixture into food mill and process again. Discard pulp from mill. Measure out 4 cups of the prepared juice from the bowl. Place juice into a clean dutch oven along with 7 cups of sugar. Stir to combine and bring to a full rolling boil. Stir in 1 pouch of Certo liquid pectin. Return to a boil and boil for 1 minute exactly, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Skim off foam with a metal spoon. Ladle hot jelly quickly into prepared, hot jars. Wipe jar rim and threads clean and cover with 2 piece lid and ring. Screw band on tightly. Place jars in canner (I just used one of my dutch ovens. The jars fit perfectly in it). Cover with hot water. Bring to a boil and process for 5 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If the lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary. Retighten bands and store in a cool dry place.