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Vanilla beans are just straight up fancy. And using them in jam makes me feel ultra fancy. The combination of sweet ripe peaches and vanilla beans tastes as gorgeous as it looks. Your tastebuds will be thankful.
I’m not going to lie, Vanilla beans are pricy. And I totally understand why you may not want to invest in those fragrant pods. I do think they are worth it for certain recipes where the vanilla really gets to shine like vanilla bean ice cream, or creme brûlée. And also this jam.
If you don’t want to track down vanilla beans, I suggest buying some vanilla bean paste which is the best of both worlds. It is a beautiful thick vanilla extract with added vanilla bean caviar. You can find this is the baking section of a well stocked grocery store, a specialty baking store, or online. And your third option, vanilla extract is also great. Just make sure you are using a high quality real vanilla extract.
Canning 101.
Now I ranted about how much I love canning over here, so I won’t repeat that again. You can either can this recipe to be shelf stable or store it in the fridge or freezer. It’ll keep in the pantry for abut one year, in the fridge for about two months, or in the freezer for about 6 months.
I like using these instructions when water bath canning. Now there is some fancy equipment within these instructions. I now have a water bath canner, canning funnel, and jar lifter because I can so often. But, I have canned without them. You can use a regular pot. You can use a regular funnel (or no funnel at all). If you’re careful you can use a strong pair of tongs (while wearing oven mitts) to lift your jars. I’ve seen warnings that when using a regular pot of boiling water, jars rattle against the bottom of the bot and may break. This could happen. This has never happened to me. Canning equipment isn’t a huge investment but I’d recommend trying it out a few times to see if you enjoy it before you race out and buy everything.
Pro tip: Make a double batch and give it as gifts. Remember what I said about feeling fancy when you make this jam? Pass that fanciness on to your favourite people and they’ll love you forever.
Peach Vanilla Bean Jam
Ingredients
- 4 large ripe peaches
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp pectin
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste**
Instructions
- Prepare two*** 250 ml jars with sealing lid, such as Ball canning jars. Sterilize jars and lids in either the dishwasher or in hot soapy water. If you would like to can your jalapeños for cupboard storage, prepare your water bath canner per directions in the link at the bottom of the recipe.*
- Remove the skin from the peaches: prepare a bowl of cold ice water big enough to hold the peaches. Bring water to a boil in a pot large enough for the peaches. Score the bottom of each peach with an X using a paring knife. Boil the peaches for 1 minute and then transfer them to the ice water. Let chill until cool enough to handle. When peaches are cool, peel skins off from the score point upwards. Remove pits from peaches and chop into small 1/4" pieces.
- Place all ingredients except vanilla bean paste in a pot, stir to combine and heat mixture over medium heat until fruit has released it's juices and mixture is looking more like a jam.
- Turn the heat up to high and bring mixture to a full boil. Boil hard for 5 minutes, stirring a few times to ensure jam doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Fill jars by using a ladle and funnel. Ensure you are following the directions in the link in the tips area.*
- Screw lids onto the jars. If processing jars in canner, continue with the directions per the link below.
- Let jars cool at room temperature. If you processed your jars, you can now store them in the pantry for up to one year. If you did not process jars, store jars in the fridge for up to two months or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
