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Raspberry-Peach Spreadable Fruit

Source of Recipe

"The America's Test Kitchen Do-It-Yourself Cookbook"


Recipe Introduction

"I married into fruit. My husband, Ken, moved into our house over a decade ago in a city full of skinny little yards — most of them no bigger than your average driveway. Yet in that time he's managed to create a thriving urban orchard that includes apples, peaches, cherries, pluots, and apricots, as well as grapes, blueberries, and raspberries. Before I came into the picture, Ken shared his bounty with his housemates, made a lot of pies, and tossed the rest into the freezer — in fact, the first time I opened his freezer, I noticed that it contained little more than fruit (and ice cubes). This summer, as I made crisps, cobblers, and pies, and yet still watched our freezer fill up, panic set in and I said, 'Enough.' It was time for jam. I hadn't made jam in years, partly out of laziness and partly because I love Sarabeth's Spreadable Fruit. This stuff is great — it actually tastes like fruit, not sugar — but it's not cheap and the way we go through it (spread on toast and scones and even stirred into yogurt), I thought that making my own version might not be a bad idea. Plus, I could reclaim space in the freezer. Sarabeth's jam isn't very thick — in fact, it's on the thin side. I checked out her website and learned that her preserves don't contain added pectin, which probably accounts for their fluid texture. My goal was to approximate her preserves using raspberries and peaches. What you'll find here is just that, a loose spreadable jam with bright fruit flavor that isn't too sweet. It's perfect for toast, scones, and, of course, yogurt."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 cup sugar
â—¦ 12 ounces (2 ½ cups) raspberries
â—¦ 3 pounds peaches, peeled, halved, pitted, sliced ¼ inch thick, and each slice halved crosswise (8 cups)
â—¦ 3 tablespoons lemon juice


Recipe

Place metal spoon in freezer to chill. Heat sugar in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until warm, about 1 minute. Add raspberries and continue to stir until raspberries release their juices, about 1 minute. Stir in peaches, bring to boil over medium-high heat, and cook until peaches are just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Coarsely mash fruit with potato masher.

Return fruit mixture to boil and cook until mixture thickens to jam-like consistency, 8 to 10 minutes. To test for set point, remove saucepan from heat. Dip chilled spoon into jam, and allow jam to run off spoon; jam should slowly fall off spoon in one thickened clump. If it is runny, return jam to medium heat and simmer 2 to 4 minutes before re-testing. Using large spoon, skim foam from top of jam. Stir in lemon juice.

Transfer jam to jars with tight-fitting lids, let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. Jam can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

To double:
Double ingredients and substitute Dutch oven for large saucepan. In Step 1, increase cooking time of peaches to 10 to 15 minutes. In Step 2, increase cooking time to 15 to 20 minutes.

To process for long-term storage:
In Step 3, transfer jam, while still hot, to hot, sterilized 1-cup jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace at top, and process 5 minutes for up to 1,000 feet, 10 minutes for 1,001 to 6,000 feet, and 15 minutes for above 6,000 feet. Store in cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

Makes about five 1-cup jars