Every year, when peach season hits, I get insanely excited. I love them. So much. And we have our favorite stand at the farmers’ market from whom we love to buy peaches each year.
This year, I decided to go a little peach crazy. This ultimately yielded a lovely batch of canned peaches, some homemade Peach + Cinnamon Refrigerator Jam (which I froze), and today’s feature: Raspberry Peach Jam with Garam Masala.
For whatever reason, I have decided one of my goals in life is to come up with as many jam recipes as possible – featuring interesting and exciting fruit/herb/spice blends. This is one such experiment… with quite yummy results.
The recipe is based on one I tried last year (found in a canning issue of Taste of Home magazine), which has been tweaked twice now to get just the right sugar balance and the perfect surprising twist of flavor.
I hope you enjoy it!
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I like a bit of chunkiness in my jams (so they’re more like preserves). If you like a smoother experience, give the peaches a whirl in the food processor or smoosh them up with a potato masher rather than just dicing them. This recipe yielded 7 half-pints (plus nearly a full half-pint extra I could stick in the fridge and eat right away). If you want to make a smaller amount, just halve it.
Also! This recipe calls for processing in a canner. I used a hot process method with a water bath canner. If you need canning tips, you can find great info at the Ball® Home Canning site. I’ll also follow up with more info later this month with tips and detailed steps!
5 1/3 cup peaches, diced
3 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
4 cups sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp garam masala
- Peel your peaches. The easiest way to do this is to wash them, score them (cut a little “x” on the bottom with a knife), and throw them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Remove them with tongs or a spoon and put them directly into cold water. Once they’ve sat for 10 seconds or so, you can easily peel the skin off and you’re left with lovely exposed peachiness!
- Dice (or smash/puree) your peaches and add to a dutch oven or large pot.
- Add your raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and garam masala to the pot as well.
- Over low heat, cook the ingredients, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, the raspberries are breaking down into little bright-red bits, and the mixture is bubbly but not boiling. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Raise your heat and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Allow it to boil on full for 15 minutes. Once done, skim the foam from the top using a spoon (just scoop it out and toss it in the sink).
- Turn off your heat and carefully ladle the hot jam into your prepared “hot” jars (i.e., they are sterilized and have been heated with boiling water). Leave 1/4 inch headspace (this means 1/4 inch of room at the top).
- Remove any air bubbles (chopsticks are great for this!), wipe the rims with a clean cloth, and place/adjust your lids.
- Once you’ve got your bands on (the ring that holds the lid to the jar), process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes. This enables your jam to last up to a year on the shelf!