Peach Vanilla Jam

Gilliland's Peach Orchard is located in Cleveland, TN and I am pretty sure they have the best peaches in world. People come from all over for their super sweet peaches. This year I decided to make a run of peach jam. And at the very last minute, I decided to throw in some vanilla paste.

While I would love to tell you I created a sophisticated peach jam recipe, the truth is I followed the instructions on the back of the Sure Jell box. No need to reinvent the wheel. Full disclosure- this is my first time making peach jam.

For this run, I purchased a peck of peaches. The final result was 30 half pint jars of golden goodness. I had no idea I was going to end up with this much, and if I had it to do over again, a half peck would have been the perfect amount to begin this peach jam journey.

You may assume I am going to slather the jam on homemade biscuits, and that is true. But I am also going to use it on cheese boards, add to iced tea, hot tea, ice cream, pancakes and anything and everything else that comes to mind.

Helpful Hint: The easiest way to peel a peach is to drop it into boiling water for a couple of minutes and then straight into an ice bath. This method insures minimal waste. After peeled, I used a hand chopper to dice the peaches into consistent pieces. This yielded 20 cups of diced peaches, 5 quart.

To preserve the jam, I used the water bath method. A good water bath canner, Ball jars, Ball rings, and a canning kit all come in handy.

You can also make a low sugar version by purchasing the low sugar Sure Jell and following the directions. Also, if you are not a fan of vanilla, just leave it out. You can also substitute regular vanilla for vanilla paste.