I can’t tell you how excited I am to be writing for Vegan Mainstream during Vegan MOFO (Month Of Food). Here at Vegan Heartland I’ve been preparing for the incoming bounty that autumn brings. I’ve already started planning my recipes for October-December and am looking forward to planning my Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. But before I delve into autumn and winter, I thought it would be fun to end my summer with one last peachy bang!
I remember when I was little I used to sit in my grandma’s kitchen and watch her and my great-aunt (her aunt) boil and peel peaches before they canned them. I really didn’t care for the whole process. To my little brain it was a painstakingly long and boring process of boiling, peeling, chopping, and so on and so on. I just knew it lead to one very important thing: peach pie. To a 5-year-old, peach pie is everything.
Though I do love a peach pie I don’t always have the time (or patience) to go through the work of peeling the peaches and making the pastry crust and working with the lattice crust. So I came up with this brilliant idea of making Peach Pie Jam! It is a little bit of a long process, but there’s no pastry involved. Just a big, simmering pot of peaches!
Ingredients:
- 7 medium-large peaches (enough to equal 6 cups of fruit)
- 1 cup agave nectar
- 1/4 cup citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit…anything you have on hand will work!)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 large pot for boiling water and simmering the jam
- 1 large bowl filled with cold/ice water
- potato masher
First, wash the peaches and gently place them in a large pot of boiling water. Boil over high heat for 45 seconds. If the peaches are a little underripe, boil for 1 minute.
Using a large, slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to the big bowl filled with cold/ice water. Finish boiling all the peaches and allow to sit in the ice water for 1 minute, then drain.
After the peaches have cooled and drained – peel away the skin with your fingers or a small paring knife. If you boiled them long enough the skin should just peel right off.
Once the peaches are peeled, cut them into small chunks and place them back into the pot they were boiled in. Once they’re all chopped add the agave, citrus juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir together and mash with a potato masher until there are little to no chunks left. Don’t worry about getting all the chunks. Once they begin boiling the peach chunks will begin to fall apart.
Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer over low heat for 50-55 minutes until the jam thickens. Remove from heat and allow the jam to cool and thicken further. Refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 1 month.
Matthew Calverley is the creator and writer of the popular cooking blog Vegan Heartland. Matthew grew up eating delicious and decadent food cooked by his loving grandmothers and has made it his mission to veganize his family’s passed-down recipes while creating his own recipes along the way. The purpose of Vegan Heartland is to show vegans and non-vegans alike that delicious and healthy vegan recipes can be created just like grandma made!
