Peach and Ginger Jam
When fruit is plentiful I love to make batches of homemade jam. In fact, I haven’t purchased any store bought brands for four years. Like all things cooking, I often look for ways I can cut down on time. Although you still need to use canning skills to preserve this jam, it’s prepared in the microwave which speeds up the process and also lessens the heat in the kitchen.
Most of the time I’ve used peaches in this recipe, but I think nectarines would work just as well. My next tweak for this one is using mangoes so feel free to give them a try too.
4 large peaches, peeled, and cut into1/2 inch pieces
2 cups white sugar
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons of finely chopped ginger (or if you can find some or have some on hand about ¼ cup of crystallized ginger)
In a large(at least 8 cups) microwavable bowl add the peaches,sugar and the lemon juice and stir everything together so the sugar starts to dissolve.
Place the bowl in the microwave on full power for about 5 minutes and give at least one stir of the mixture during this time. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in the ginger, making sure it’s evenly spread throughout the mixture.
Return the bowl to the microwave and cook on full power for 15 minutes. Make sure you stir it about every three minutes. DO NOT walk away and leave it at any time because the hotter it gets the more it bubbles up and you don’t want it spilling out over the top of the bowl and into the microwave.
After 15 minutes the mixture should look gel-like which means it’s ready.
Put the mixture in your prepared canning jars and process for ten minutes.
This makes about three ½ pint jars. It’s great on toast, scones, stirred into oatmeal on a winter’s day, and served as an accompaniment to a cheese platter during the holidays.
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