Strawberry Peach Jam.

When I was trying to decide on a third strawberry recipe Jake suggested using some of the peaches I had canned last summer. I thought it was a great idea, I had canned 22 lbs. of peaches and Jake promised he'd eat them all but has fallen behind so I opened up a jar and got to work. I love how this jam turned out, I'm not a huge strawberry fan so this had just enough peach in it to even out the strawberry flavor and make it taste light and summery.

4 c. hulled and chopped strawberries
2 c. peeled and chopped peaches
4 c. sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1 packet powdered pectin (this is all the local store has, if you prefer liquid, follow instructions on packet)

Some notes before we go on. The sugar quantity I listed is for fresh fruit. Now, if you pick up a box of low sugar pectin, you can use less sugar. Alternatively, there are sugar substitutes you can use such as honey or splenda.

The easiest way to peel a peach is to blanch it. If you don't know how to do this, I've found this handy and short video to help.

Before you start cooking your jam, fill up your water bath canner and turn on the burner, it takes awhile to bring it to a boil. Wash your jars in hot soapy water or on the sanitize cycle of your dishwasher. Put your lids in a small pot and warm them up on the stove so the rubber becomes soft, do not boil them.

Add fruit and sugar to a large non-reactive pot. Stir so the sugar mixes with the juices from the fruit (it will look like a thick pink mess at first). Bring to a boil and let cook for 15 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over or burn. Strawberries especially like to foam alot. Sometimes it's helpful to add a pat of butter to help keep the foam down.

Add pectin and let jam boil for 5 minutes. It should be a "rolling" boil, where even if you stir, it's still boiling.

Turn off the burner, skim the foam from the top of the jam and fill your jars, leave 1/4 inch headspace.

Wipe rims, apply lids and bands and process for 10 minutes. When your 10 minutes is up, remove your jars from the canner and wait for the little "pop" that they've sealed. If any of them don't seal (it shouldn't take very long to know if they haven't) pop them in the fridge and use within a few weeks.