I’ve got a bit of a confession…when strawberries were still in season I tried making strawberry jam.  So why didn’t you see a Strawberry Jam post, you might be wondering right now.  Notice the word “tried” in that first sentence?  That would be why.

I’m not exactly sure what happened to be honest.  I had the pectin, I had the fresh strawberries from Westmoreland Berry Farm and I had the canning jars ready to go!  But let’s just say it turned into a big berry mess, leave it at that and turn our attention to my more successful jam attempt.

The idea for this jam started with a conversation with Stefano Frigerio of the Copper Pot at Penn Quarter Farmers Market one week.  Stefano and his recipe for strawberry vanilla jam had recently been featured in the Washington Post and I was curious because his method didn’t involve pectin.  It was just fresh strawberries, a split vanilla bean and sugar…nothing more.  I have grown to love Stefano’s jams because he also sells at my neighborhood favorite 14th & U Farmers Market, so I knew the results of his jams were amazing.  As I was picking up his confit rabbit ravioli, I told him of my plans to attempt to make bluberry jam.  He shook his head and told me blueberry jam required way too many blueberries to make a decent jar.  And as he pointed out, blueberries ain’t cheap.  Instead, he suggested I make peach jam and pointed out that by not peeling the peach, I could use the natural pectin in its skin to thicken the jam.  He did caution that I should take the skins out before eating the jam, something that could easily be done with a sieve.

So about 2 Saturdays ago, I headed out to the 14th & U Farmers Market with Brian (who always blames me when he overindulges at the farmers markets…of which I vehemently deny) and picked up some peaches at Kuhn Orchards.  I came back home and decided to follow Stefano’s method to make the jam.  Because of my previously craptastic attempt at making jam, I decided to only make a small batch of the peach jam.  I didn’t want to waste too many of the beautifully sweet peaches on a project that might backfire.  I placed a pound of chopped peaches, 1 cup of sugar (which actually turned out to be a hair too much…you need a LOT less sugar when you’re using farm fresh fruit), the beans of a split vanilla pod and the vanilla bean shells in a pot and let it stand for about 30 minutes.

After sitting for that long, the peaches started to release some of its juices, meaning I didn’t have to add any other liquids to the jam.  I then set the pot on a low heat and allowed the peaches to cook for about 1 1/2 hours (stirring frequently) or until the mixture cooked down to a jam like consistency.  While the jam was still hot, I removed the vanilla bean shells and forced the jam through a sieve to remove the skins.  I then ladled the jam into a hot, sterilized canning jar.  I boiled a big pot of water and set the jam jar down in it for about 5 to 10 minutes for canning purposes and then removed the jar using tongs.  I allowed the jam to cool before I slathered it on some toast with Keswick Creamery‘s oh so tasty Quark (which is a slightly tangier and MUCH tastier version of cream cheese).

This was a MUCH more successful jam attempt and except for being slightly sweeter than I prefer, the jam tasted amazing.  The small chunks of fresh peaches in the jam gave it an even better taste overall.  Using fresh, in season fruit and minimal sugar led to a wonderful end result and I plan on making even more peach jam this weekend!

I have a bit of a confession: I don’t really like peaches. I know, I know, you’re thinking: “But you’re from Georgia…isn’t that I don’t know, the PEACH state?”. Yes it is, you insolent ass but that doesn’t negate the fact that I am not really a peach fan. They always seemed to lack flavor and had a weird fuzzy consistency that reminded me of eating bugs (not that I go around eating bugs, but you get the drift). But as with most things, that was before I had some fresh, lovely peaches straight from the farm.

It’s the height of the summer peach season in DC, so of course it was inevitable some of them would show up in my CSA share. When I saw them, I was immediately struck by how beautiful they were. These babies were nothing like the hard, furry little things I was used to seeing in grocery stores. They had a soft feel to them without being mushy and they smelled divine. And when I cut into one of them and took a small bite, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. This is why there are peach festivals and entire stores devoted solely to this amazing fruit (oh yeah, there are entire STORES in Georgia that sell nothing but peaches and peach related products), I thought as the slice melted in my mouth. I could have easily scarfed down the remaining six little beauties, but I forced myself to put the rest down. I was having someone over for dinner on Saturday night, so I decided to make a cobbler with the peaches.

And here is where the debate REALLY begins…

There are several schools of thought when it comes to cobblers. There are those who swear only the biscuit based cobblers are true cobblers (I call them losers). Then there are normal people like me who know a cobbler isn’t a cobbler unless it has a flakier, more pie crust type cobbler topping. My grandmother’s cobbler always reminded me of a pie that had been knocked around and served on a plate…and I loved every single bit of it. So of course when it’s time for me to make a cobbler, I went straight for the more pie like variety.

For the peach filling:

5-6 medium sized peaches, left at room temperature for at least an hour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

For the cobbler dough:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

1/2 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice each peach in half and remove the pit. You can remove the skin if you like, but it isn’t necessary. Cut the peaches into lengthwise slices and place in a bowl. Pour the sugar and the corn starch over the peaches, along with the vanilla. With your hands, mix everything together and set the peaches aside.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Again with your hands (yes, I like to get my hands dirty), blend in the cubes of butter until a crumbly meal is formed. Slowly add the whipping cream until the meal becomes more dough like. However, you don’t want the dough to become too wet, so add the cream slowly to ensure the proper consistency.

Butter an 8×8 inch baking dish (or a similar size) and crumble up some of the dough mixture on the bottom of it. Place half the peach mixture on top and then layer some more of the crumble mixture. Add the remaining peaches and top with the remaining crumble/dough mixture. If you’d like, you can top the cobbler with a handful of walnuts. Bake the cobbler for 50 minutes or until the top is golden and the fruit mixture is bubbling.

I want to thank you guys for being patient with me while I spent time away from my blog. I needed the time away and the perspective it gave me. But I’m back, wearing my cute little apron…and I’ve brought peaches!