Peach Almond Jam

 I was looking for new and different recipe to use up some of the peaches that we were gifted with this week. I have in recent days canned a lot of peaches in the form of: peach pie filling and peaches in syrup. I still have plenty of those and wanted something unique to use as stocking stuffer and gifts for Christmas. After some searching, I found this recipe for Peach Almond Jam here except that I modified it some. I added more peaches, cut back on total sugar, then doubled extract and almonds.

This makes an excellent gourmet jam that is GREAT for gift giving. The unique distinction in this jam is the fact that it has almonds within the body of the jam. This add a crunch and extra texture that is usually not found in jams. Nuts are usually added to Conserves, but I really liked this added texture here.

Peach Almond Jam

5 lbs. peaches, peeled and finely chopped (8 cups)

1 cup almonds - chopped (I used my coffee grinder and did a rough grind)

1/2 cup lemon juice

6 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 pouch liquid pectin

In 6 quart sauce pan, place fruit, lemon juice and almonds. Then stir in sugar. Place over high heat and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and immediately stir in pectin and almond extract. You can skim off the foam with metal spoon if you want to have a "pretty" finished product. I usually do not do this. I just ladle it all into clean hot sterile jars. Fill to 1/4 inch head space. Process in BWB for 5 minutes for half-pints and 10 minutes for pint jars. Yielded 7 half-pint jars.