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Peach Jam (Bourbon)

peachbourbonjamThis simple jam is full of fresh peach flavour with hints of vanilla and bourbon.

½ vanilla bean
1 lb yellow peaches, ripe but firm, halved, pitted and cut into ½" pieces (3 cups)
1 cup sugar
½ cup Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated (½ apple)
1 cup bourbon
1 Tbsp. bottled lemon juice

Place 2 small plates in freezer to chill. Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using tip of paring knife, scrape out seeds. Stir vanilla bean and seeds, peaches, sugar, apple, bourbon and lemon juice together in large saucepan, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.

Bring mixture to boil, stirring often, over medium-high heat. Once sugar is completely dissolved, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until peaches are softened, about 10 minutes.

Off heat, crush fruit with potato masher until mostly smooth. Return mixture to boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring and adjusting heat as needed, until mixture resisters 217°F-220°F, about 6 minutes. (Temperature will be lower at higher elevations.) Remove pot from heat and discard vanilla bean.

To test consistency, place 1 tsp. jam on chilled plate and freeze for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through jam on plate; jam has correct consistency when your finger leaves distinct trail. If runny, return pot to heat and simmer for 1-3 minutes longer before retesting. Skim any foam from surface of jam using spoon.

Meanwhile, place two 1 cup jars in bowl and place under hot running water until heated through, 1-2 minutes; shake dry.

Using funnel and ladle, portion hot jam into hot jars. Let cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate until jam is set, 12-24 hours. (Jam can be refrigerated for up to 2 months).

Makes two 1 cup jars.

Cook’s Notes:

  • Riffing on our Classic Peach Jam, we began by macerating the peaches, grated apple, half a vanilla bean, sugar and lemon juice. Then we simmered the peaches until softened, mashed them and stirred in a couple Tbsp. of bourbon. After much testing, we still couldn't taste the bourbon. Since we set out to create a jam with a bourbon kick, we upped the amount of bourbon in the fully cooked jam.
  • However, adding the bourbon towards the end of cooking produced a harsh alcohol flavour. So we tried adding bourbon at the beginning of our cooking process during the macerating phase. Adding the bourbon at the beginning helped to eliminate any harshness and left sweet bourbon notes in the jam.
  • Trying varying amounts, we found that a whole cup of bourbon finally gave us the deep bourbon flavour we were after.
  • Do not use white peaches here; they are not acidic enough for safe canning using this recipe.
  • For safety reasons, be sure to use bottled lemon juice, not fresh-squeezed juice, in this recipe. This jam can be processed for long-term storage.