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Peach, Mango & Vanilla Jam

September 17th, 2006 | Category: Breakfast

Jam

After reading through last month’s Sugar High Friday posts at Delicious Days, I couldn’t resist making my own jam.

This was going to be my first, so I tried to read through almost all possible blog entries and jam making secrets from several websites. I was specifically looking for a peach jam recipe because I knew that the sugar-fruit ratio vary according to type and ripeness of the fruit. I was set to prepare a peach jam/marmalade/preserve (if you are also confused as to which one to call your preserved fruit, check out the Wikipedia entry for definitions - mine is somewhere between jam and preserve) with the addition of a mango that I couldn’t resist when I saw on the shelves and of course a vanilla pod for the delicious smell.

I am quite happy with the result. Pulsing the fruit just a little in the handheld blender yielded the crunchy texture that I was aiming at. The vanilla smell could have been stronger but that is going to be solved next time. The sugar amount is perfect; not too sweet - just the way I like.

Browsing through many tutorials on how to preserve fruit, I must say that I found Delia Smith’s “How to make marmalade” quite useful, especially tip #12 on testing the set. She recommends that you put three small bowls in the freezer to test the set of the jam/marmalade at certain intervals. You put a small amount of the boiling jam, keep it there for a minute then run your finger through it. If a crinkly skin forms, then it means it has reached the setting point. I was content with the result on my third try.

I was rather dissapointed to see that most of the vanilla pod seeds stayed within the foam that I had to throw out. Although I still see some of the seeds in the jar, I would have preferred that most of them stayed in. Next time, I will definitely put three times the amount of vanilla as Nicky did.

Peach, Mango & Vanilla Jam

Ingredients

1.75 pounds (800 gram) peaches*

0.45 pounds (200 gram) mango*

* Weight of pitted and skinned fruit.

1.55 pounds (700 gram) of granulated sugar

1 vanilla pod (cut in half lengthwise, seeeds scraped)

1 lemon

Method

After skinning and pitting the fruit, cut them into small cubes and put in a non-reactive bowl together with the sugar, juice of 1 lemon and vanilla. Leave covered for 24 hours in the fridge. Take out the mixture and process to your liking with a handheld blender (I did very little as I wanted to leave some pieces for chewiness). Transfer to a large pot and bring to a boil. After 5-10 minutes, turn the heat down to medium and continue simmering. After 25 minutes place a small amount of jam into one of the bowls you reserved in the freezer and test for the set. Repeat until a crinkly skin forms when you push the jam. Transfer the jam into your sterilized** jars close the lid and let cool upside down. Enjoy!

** How to sterilize your jars: Boil the jars in a large pot for 10 minutes and keep them in hot water until you transfer the jam.

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