Peach Rosemary Jam

There’s no other food that screams summer to me more than peaches. When I bite into a ripe, juicy peach, at once I’m reminded of the things I love about the summer time.

Longer days. Sundresses. Cook outs (pre-covid, anyway). Ice cream at sunset. The taste of grilled meat. Random road trips. Even the heat (to a certain extent.) Peaches all can take me there.

I like to cook and bake with peaches almost as much as I like to eat them, and with this week’s recipe I got to do both.

Making jam sounds like one of those super involved projects that aren’t worth the effort, but it’s not hard, really. The most laborious part of it is prepping the fruit, and then having the patience to let it cook down to the right consistency.

Fruit and herbs is one of my favorite flavor combinations, and the peaches and rosemary make an excellent combination for jam here. I was a little concerned going into it that the rosemary would overpower the peach taste, but it doesn’t. The lemon at the end does the perfect amounting of rounding out the sweet of the peach, the herby flavor of the rosemary with a hint of tartness.

This is good stuff, y’all.

Peach Rosemary Jam

Recipe Courtesy of Fine Cooking

Ingredients

2 lb. yellow peaches, pitted, peeled, and coarsely chopped (about 6 cups)
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Directions

Place the peaches in a large nonreactive skillet. Stir in the sugar and rosemary. Let sit, stirring once or twice, until the sugar begins to dissolve, 5 to 10 minutes.

Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring frequently, until the peaches start to break down, the liquid begins to evaporate, and the mixture begins to thicken, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. If you find that the chunks of fruit are too big for your liking, use a potato masher to help break them down.

Continue to cook until the jam has thickened, 3 to 4 minutes more; it is done when you can pull a spatula through the jam and the space you clear stays open for 2 or 3 seconds. The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools, so make sure to stop a little shy of your desired thickness.