Canning: Peach Jam

I don't think I can call myself the Queen of Canning, since before this weekend I had never canned a thing before.

But I do think I will give myself the title of Canning Lady in Waiting.

That's because I went from zero to 12 jars of preserved food in a short weekend that was also filled with pie-in-a-jar making and thesisizing.

I started out my canning exploits with a countertop of peaches I purchased at the downtown farmer's market in Springfield. For some reason, those peaches gave me the urge to make some jam.

So I found a terrific recipe (read: easy!) for just that.

And so I started heating my jars


and my lids.


Then I took my peaches and removed their skins and cut them up.

I mashed the peaches


and partnered them with sugar and lemon juice and let them do their thing on the stovetop.


Then, when the peaches were ready, I filled the heated jars with the jam.


Next I proceeded to follow the canning steps required to finish the process, including working out the air bubbles (full disclosure: I may have forgotten to do this with a few, oops!) and wiping the rims and putting on the lids.

And then the happy little jars were processed in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.


Now they are ready to eat. I have decided to call them Jams by Julie and, if the spills I cleaned up off the countertop are any indication, I think they're pretty darn good.

Who's ready to try some?

(As for the other canning I did over the weekend ... you'll just have to wait for the next posts to learn about what went into them. Come on, I know you live for the suspense.)