Once again, it’s that glorious time of year when the second shipment of Northwest Cherry Growers fruit comes in. I usually get peaches, but one year I got nectarines and another year a mix of nectarines and peaches. Dreamy.

Anyway the 18 pound box arrived and they were all so fresh I had to wait to do anything with them! Not even one of them was squishy or soft. That’s a record guys. These are shipped OVERNIGHT from the Northwest to NY. In 90°+ weather.

Seriously they’re always the most perfect looking (and tasting) peaches.

After waiting a bit, a few of them got a bit soft, and it coincided with me buying a pint of blueberries to make jam for my father. I figured why not make a blueberry peach jam? I’d actually never done that. I’ve done blackberry nectarine. Never blueberry peach.

And the best part about jammin’ with blueberries? No added pectin! Blueberries are little independent pectin bombs and don’t need no man. Er, added pectin.

BLUEBERRY PEACH SMALL-BATCH JAM

Ingredients:

• 1 pint blueberries, washed and stems removed
• 2 peaches, skin removed, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Prepare sanitized canning jars. Set them up on a clean tea towel.
2. Add fruit, sugar, lemon juice and water to a large heavy bottomed saucepan (blueberries bubble over and THEY WILL STAIN). Turn on heat to medium-high and bring to a rolling boil.
3. Lower heat to medium. You want it bubbly as it cooks, but not so bubbly it’s gonna stick to the bottom, burn and bubble over. Simmer somewhat thickened.Do not cook until it’s completely thick!As it cools it will set and you will end up with blueberry peach glue. Or a blueberry peach brick.
4. Ladle into the clean jars. Seal and process for 10 min. in a water bath. Remove and set aside. Check seal after 24 hours. Any unsealed jars must be refrigerated and used ASAP.

By “small – batch” I mean, one pint. And a teeny bit extra. You can double this recipe for sure, maybe even triple it if you wish. It has no pectin to worry about and blueberries are basically fool proof.

Please do not be adding pectin to blueberry jam recipes. Please.

In all, since the start of this little venture as Canbassador, I’ve made vanilla brandied peach jam, nectarine basil preserves, peach & pepper salsa, vanilla bean sliced peaches in syrup, a beautiful (and easy!) peach, bourbon & black walnut crostata, mint julep peaches, and grilled peaches with ricotta cream & honey, which were also amazing and a great use for those peaches not suitable for canning (too many soft spots, overripe, not ripe enough, etc). There was also a triple stone fruit crisp, spiced nectarine jam, nectarine & blackberry jam with purple ruffles basil, canned cherries in a light syrup, cherry preserves with jasmine green tea, mini-cherry pies made with Pimm’s No. 1 Cup and a cherry sauce I served with vanilla panna cotta… then a sour cherry jam, whole cherries in coconut syrup and a beautiful almond ricotta cake with fresh cherries and strawberries. Last year I made cherry salsa with jalapeño and cherry vanilla freezer jam. I also baked up some whole wheat cherry almond oat bread and a cherry crumble. Then when the peaches came… I made peach ketchup, peach salsa (again) and a peach caramel tart. This year so far I’ve made cherry stout barbecue sauce and cherry dessert topping.

And now this.

Damn that’s a lot!

Soon to come: recipe #2. Maple vanilla peach jam. Das rite. Rockin’ & rollin’ along.

Suggestions for use: Its jam so, like, put it on toast or a toasted English muffin, use it to top ice cream, yogurt, frozen yogurt, pound cake, lemon cake, pistachio or almond cake. Eat it right out of the jar. Swirl it into a glass of lemonade. Smear it on crackers.

Soundtrack: “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”

Sources & credits: short wide mouth 8 oz jars by Ball; pink glass mixing bowl, vintage Pyrex (gooseberry).