Posted by Sherry on September 11, 2001 at 21:37:59:
In Reply to: peach butter posted by Diane Smith on September 10, 2001 at 21:25:14:
Peach Cobbler Yield: 6 servings
4 c peaches, sliced 1/2 c brown sugar 4 ts arrowroot powder 1/4 ts nutmeg 1/2 c water 1 tb lemon juice
1 c flour 2 tb sugar 2 ts baking powder 1/4 c shortening 1/3 c water
In a medium pot, combine brown sugar, arrowroot (or use cornstarch) nutmeg and 1/2 c water.Cook over a low heat, stirring till bubbly and till it starts to thicken. Add peaches and lemon juice. Cook only until it has heated through. Place in a 1 1/2 quart casserole
COBBLER: Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and a sprinkling of salt. Cut in shortening. Add water. Mix lightly, just till the mixture is thoroughly moistened.
Spoon biscuit mixture over hot fruit filling in 6 mounds. Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes. May take 25 minutes. Serve warm.
Peach Cobbler
1/2 cup sugar 4 t. cornstarch 1/2 cup water 1/4-1/2 t cinnamon 1 T. lemon juice peaches, peeled and sectioned
1 cup flour 2 T. sugar 2 t. baking powder 1/4 cup crisco 1/2 cup milk
Dissolve cornstarch in water, and mix with sugar and cinnamon on stove top. Bring to boil to thicken and add peaches. Cook 'til soft (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and pour into oven-safe baking dish.
Mix Flour, sugar, and baking powder in bowl and cut in shortening. The mixture should be crumbly (It works really well to use your hands to cut in the shortening.) before adding the milk.
Spoon the sweet bisquit mixture on top of the fruit and bake in a 400 degree oven 25-30 min. or until the crust browns on top.
Peach Shortcake
2 cups flour 3 tsp baking powder 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2/3 cup shortening 1 egg, beaten 1/3 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla
Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Cut shortening into dry mixture. Combine beaten egg, milk, and vanilla and stir into dry mixture. Turn out onto floured board and roll into a pseudo-rectangle 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle with sugar and roll jelly-roll fashion. Cut into slices 3/4-inch thick using a thread (makes cleaner cuts) and place on lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with milk. Bake 12-15 minutes at 450F or until golden brown. Top with sweetened peaches (or any fruit).
---------------------- PEACH SOUR CREAM PIE
1 cup sour cream juice 1/2 orange 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 egg yolks 1-8" pie shell 2 Tbsp flour 2 1/2 cups sliced peaches
Blend sour cream, orange juice, brown sugar, salt and egg yolks. Sprinkle pie shell with 1 Tbsp flour. Pour in peaches and sprinkle with remaining flour. Pour sour cream mixture over peaches. Bake 425F for 15 minutes, then 350F for 30 minutes.
------------------------------ Fresh Peach Pie
pastry for 2-crust pie 5-6 peaches, sliced 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup flour salt 1-2 tsp lemon juice butter sugar
Mix peaches, sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice together and put in a prepared pie crust. Dot the top of the peaches with butter.
Roll out the top crust and put it on the top of the peaches in the pie tin. Seal the edges, and then cut a few slits in the top of the pie crust.
Sprinkle just a little bit of sugar on the top of the pie crust. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until brown and bubbly.
Cool 5-10 minutes, then serve hot with ice cream.
Variation: Use this recipe for apricots, plums, pears, or cherries.
---------------------------- Peach Chutney (yield: about 12 cups)
6 1/2 lbs. peaches 2 cups malt vinegar 2 cups brown sugar 1 cup dark raisins 1 cup golden raisins 1 Tbsp pickling salt 3/4 cup finely chopped ginger 1 Tbsp mustard seed 2 medium oninons, finely chopped 2 Tbsp celery seed 1 hot banana pepper, seeded and finely chopped 2 tsp garam masala (curry blend) 2 green peppers, finely chopped
Blanch, peel and pit peaches. Coarsely chop peaches and combine with vinegar in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Stir in sugar. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, until the peaches are tender, about 15 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients. Boil over medium-high hea for about 45 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently.
Ladle chutney into six hot, sterilised, pint (2 cup) preserving jars, leaving 1/2 headspace. Wipe rims clean. Seal according to manufacturer's directions. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Allow chutney to mature for at least one month before using.
--------------------- Peach Honey
12 ripe peaches 1 orange Sugar
Peel and crush the peaches. Grind the orange in a food grinder. Combine. Measure volume and add an equal measure of sugar. Cook until thickened -- like honey. Recipe said 20 minutes but I don't think that comes close. OK, that was the recipe.
Here's what I did: Halved it because those were the last of the peaches. (Used half an orage, rind and all). Ran the peeled peaches through the fp with the coarse grater blade. In the interest of less sugar, I used only 3 cups of sugar to 4 cups shredded peaches. Wound up adding the last cup of sugar to it -- tasted better and helped the consistency considerably. They don't call it honey for nothing. Did I mention the *few* drops of vanilla and almond at the end? That, too. Jarred, sealed, BWB'd for 10 minutes. ----------------------
Peach Jam
2 qts. peeled and crushed peaches 1/2 cup water 6 cups sugar
Combines peaches and water in a large sauce pot. Cook gently 10 minutes. Add sugar. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4 in. head space. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield about 4 pints.
For Spiced Peach Jam: follow the above recipe, except add to jam during cooking a spice bag containing the following ingredients:
1 t. whole cloves 1/2 t. whole allspice 1 stick cinnamon
Remove spice bag before pouring jam into jars. Process as shown above.
---------------
Peach Peeling & Pit Jelly
Take 2 quarts of the peelings and pits left from canning/freezing peaches. Place in a pot and barely cover with water. Boil 30 minutes, cool, and stick in the fridge overnight.
Next morning, drain juice through a jelly bag or cheese cloth. Take the juice and mix with pectin and sugar as per the peach jelly recipe on the pectin box. Ex. The one I used: 4 1/2 cups juice, 3 cups sugar and low sugar pectin. It made aprox. 3 1/2 pints.
------------------- Peach Ketchup
5 lbs ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped 2 1/2 cups champagne or other white wine vinegar of 5% acidity 1 tsp. salt 1 lb brown sugar 1 small vanilla bean 2 2-inch strips orange zest 1 tsp mustard seed 1 cinnamon stick 1 1/2-inch slice peeled ginger root 1 tsp whole cloves 1 nutmeg, cracked (tap carefully with a small hammer) 1 tsp juniper berries
Combine the chopped peaches, vinegar, salt, and brown sugar in a 4 quart pot. Tie the remaining ingredients in several layers of cheesecloth and add this to the pot. Over high heat, bring the ingredients to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the peaches are extremely soft--about 30 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to a fine sieve and push them through, or put in a blender or food processor and puree them. Return the pureed peaches to the pot with the cooking liquid and tied spices. Simmer the mixture, uncovered until quite thick--about 1 hour. Remove the tied spices and the froth from the top, using a shallow spoon.
Ladle the ketchup into five or six sterilized, still-hot half-pint jars. Wipe rims and cap immediately with still-hot lids, plus rings. Process in a boiling water bathfor 15 minutes. Makes 5 to 6 cups
-----------------------
Peach-Pineapple Preserves
5 pounds peaches (about 10 large) 2 cans (8.5 ounces each) crushed pineapple, do NOT drain 1/3 cup bottled lemon juice 5 cups sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon mace
Peel, pit and large dice peaches. Put cut peaches into water containing ascorbic acid so that peaches won't darken, until all peaches are cut up. Rinse peaches and put into heavy saucepan. Add undrained pineapple, lemon juice, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil, dissolving sugar. Turn head down and cook at a slow boil until preserves are thick and translucent. Remove from heat., removing any foam with a metal spoon. Ladle into hot jars, clean rims, seal. Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Makes 5 to 6 pints
----------------------- SWEET AND SOUR PEACH SALSA
3 lb. ripe tomatoes (about 7 medium) 2 cup celery, sliced 2 cup onions, chopped 2 green peppers, seeded and chopped (1 1/2 cup ) 3 fresh peaches, sliced 1 cup sugar 1 cup white vinegar 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tsp. mixed pickling spice, tied in cloth bag (or tea or spice ball)
Pour boiling water over tomatoes; leave for 1 minute. Drain and cover with cold water. Peel, chop and measure to get 1 1/2 quarts pulp. Put into heavy pan (at least 8-quart size) with all other ingredients. Boil slowly, stirring often, until thickened, about 2 hours. Remove spices and discard. Pour into sterilized pint or 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes; cool and store. Makes 3 to 4 pints.
Notes: Recipe may be doubled, but boiling time will need to be increased to thicken relish.
Good on chips and crackers, but excellent as accompaniment to pork roast or fowl and also as baking sauce on oven cooked chicken.
----------------- Peach Pie Filling
6 quarts fresh peaches, peeled and sliced 5 1/4 cups cold water 7 cups sugar 2 cups clearjel 3 tablespoons clearjel 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 3/4 cups bottled lemon juice, or 14 medium lemons
6 quarts peaches are about 44-48 medium peaches or about 11 pounds.
Place peaches in water containing 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals or six 500 milligram vitamin C tablets per 1 gallon of water to prevent browning.
Place 6 cups of fruit at a time in 1 gallon boiling water
Boil each baatch 1 minute after the water returns to a boil. Drain, but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or pot.
Combine water, sugar, Clearjel, cinnamon, and almond extract in a large kettle. Stir and cook over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.
Add lemon juice and boil sauce 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
Fold in drained peach slices and continue to heat mixture 3 minutes.
Fill jars without delay, leaving 1 inch headspace. Cap and seal.
Process in boiling-water-bath canner 30 minutes.
Recipe makes enough filling for seven pies (seven quarts)
-----------------------------
Peach Butter
peaches (at least 8-12) sugar lemon juice, if desired spices, if desired
Peel and pit the peaches. Cook them in one of two ways: Quarter them and put them in a 2-quart pyrex mixing pitcher (or similar--larger micro-safe bowl if you want to). Cook at full power, loosely covered, for 10-20 minutes or so, stirring them up about every five minutes, until they are tender. You will see that juice has been released and the peaches pretty much retain their shape. (You may have to cook in batches.) I want those peaches holding their shape because it is *much* easier to drain/strain them whole than when they are mush.
If you don't have a microwave cooker or think my way is goofy, put the quartered peaches in a heavy kettle and add about 1-2 cups of water to the pot. Start cooking over low heat to discourage sticking. Cook until tender, stirring often to discourage sticking.
After cooking, drain the peaches through a colander, reserving juice (you can make jelly with the resultant juice). Put the peaches through a food mill to puree. A blender or food processor can be used, though their action is different than milling. I much prefer a food mill -- it strains to puree and separates any extraneous fiber; the fp and blender chop to puree. The final texture is different.
Measure the pulp/puree by volume. Put it into a heavy bottom kettle. Add half as much sugar as fruit (a bit less if you're fussy about sugar, but it won't necessarily make it a better outcome, though I suppose that's a subjective assessment). Add a wee splash of lemon juice at this point, if you wish. Commence cooking over low to moderate heat, uncovered, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Don't sit down and read the paper. Don't go outside and water the tomatoes. Don't go downstairs to fold the laundry. Don't leave the room. Stand at the sink and scrub it. Alphabetize your spices. Wipe off the honey and syrup containers. Don't leave the room.
When the stuff begins to boil, reduce the heat to very low, put a splatter screen atop and cook until it is thickened to your liking. *If* you want spiced butter, add spices towards the end of the cooking. I won't give amounts of spices: Start with a small amount. Be careful with ground cloves--a little goes a long way. Spices that are nice with peach butter include cinnamon and nutmeg. If you leave the room to get on with your life, take a timer with you and set it for 5-10 minutes (your cue to run back and stir and check) -- less time as it gets closer to being done.
When you've got the stuff cooking, go back to that reserved juice and strain it, hot, through about 3-4 layers of cheesecloth. Use the juice for peach jelly (check a pectin box for a recipe) or adding it to barbecue sauce.
Fruit butters are great!! They are very interruptable. *If you are uncertain* as to whether or not they are done, hold everything! Get the pot off the heat and let it and the contents cool. Check the texture and consistency then. If it's as you like it, reheat and jar. I've taken three days to make my apricot butter if I haven't had the necessary time in one shot.
Expect the volume to have reduced by about one-third. Use that guide for determining how many canning jars to prepare.
Have your canning jars and lids prepared and ready to fill. When the butter is thickened, fill the jars, remove bubbles, seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Because of the density of fruit butter, I like to have my batch bubbling hot when I fill my jars. I do this by returning the now done butter to my mixing pitcher and nuking it till the edges are bubbling. Then I pour it into the jars, check for bubbles and seal and process.
I recognize that this might be seen as a pretty involved process. It's worth the time.
Other Fruit Butters Same method.
Apricot Butter - I don't like mine spiced at all! *Maybe* a wee splash of orange juice, more likely not. Do what you will. Easy on the lemon juice if you use it.
Plum Butter - My plums, when pureed, are sour and strong. They can stand cinnamon, clove, and freshly ground allspice. Skip the lemon juice.
Apple Butter - There are a zillion recipes for apple butter. Most include cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, maybe mace. Skip the lemon juice.
Don't limit your use of fruit butter to a bread spread. Most, because of their tanginess and spiciness are very nice with grilled or roast meats, pork and chicken in particular. Apricot butter is a nice dip for chicken or egg rolls when it's cut with some vinegar. Plum butter, too.