Peaches offer up jam and a seasonal rite of passage

by Mary Drake –

The cicadas may still be singing and the afternoons hot, but the days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. Sure signs that it’s canning time. It was something my mother did, and probably her mother before her, but in today’s world of busyness and prepared foods, why bother?

Well, to tell the truth, it was never really my idea. It was my husband’s. He’s the survivalist who wants to put food aside for the future and save at the grocery store. He wants to know where our food comes from and what goes into it. So it’s become a tradition, a rite of passage that leads from summer into fall.

Actually, the process begins long before harvest, and my husband does most of the outside work. He begins in winter pruning the peach trees so that they will grow vigorously. Then, a slow, gradual warming of spring weather is crucial. Peach trees are finicky; if there’s a frost after they’ve budded out, well, that’s it. No peaches that year. If we’re lucky and there’s no late frost and the buds produce fruit, then the tree must be sprayed periodically to prevent insect damage and disease. It’s almost impossible to get good peaches without spraying.  And, importantly, near the end, much of the fruit must be thinned out and discarded so that what’s left will ripen and not be stunted.

So much work and so much waiting, but there’s great satisfaction in collecting your own fruit.

Then he looks to me to remind him of the canning protocol. I guess I’m the keeper of the kitchen. I gather canning jars, the hot water bath, and all the associated paraphernalia, like sugar, lids and rings for the jars, fruit fresh to keep the peaches from browning after they’re cut, and bags of ice, to cool the peaches down after they’re blanched. Blanching, which is just putting the peaches in boiling water for a few seconds, does two things: it helps kill bacteria on the skins and it makes peeling them a breeze. I love it when the skins slip off the blanched peaches and some of the pink color remains. The fruit goes into the jars looking lovely.

 

Peaches are a beautiful fruit. When we make peach jam in crystal jelly jars I think half of the pleasure is in the sparkling color. One year I insisted on using raw sugar to make the jam and the color came out much darker and not as pretty. My husband, who intended to give some away as gifts, was not pleased. The taste, however, is always wonderful, especially in the middle of winter.

So the peaches are stored away for a future date, along with tomatoes and sweet corn. I know we will enjoy them all winter, but for now I’m just content with the time my husband and I have shared in the kitchen.