Peach Preserve

Summer is the time of abundance. Abundance of fruits, of sunshine and of course the freezing and preserving. Remember the time I found some amazing tasty peaches in the farms nearby and decided to freeze them? During one of those visits when I greedily bought more peaches than I could handle and with all of ripening at the same time it was decided to make some preserves.

DDs and DH all eat toast with preserves or spread of some kind for breakfast every other day or so. So this one would be well utilized I knew. Very simple to make but wit the delicate taste of peaches. I used raw sugar so the end product is darker than the normal pale orange color of a peach preserve.

While you can get several different jams, jellies and preserves from the store, the biggest benefit of making them at home is to avoid adding a bunch of preservatives and also control the amount of sugar that goes into it.

Add sugar to the chopped peaches. Toss to mix.
Put the mixture on the stove on medium heat.
Cook till the preserve reaches the desired consistency.

Peach Preserve
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients

1. 5 cups of pitted and chopped peaches
2. 2 1/2 cups of raw sugar (1/2 cup of sugar for every cup of fruit)
3. 1/2 a lemon

Method

1. Toss together the peaches and the sugar.
2. Put the mixture on the stove in medium heat and stir often to avoid being burnt.
3. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
4. Continue cooking till the fruit disintegrates. If needed use a potato masher to mash the fruit a little bit or leave it slightly chunky.
5. Continue simmering till a tsp of preserve poured into a cup of water holds and does not dissolve.
6. Cool completely and store in sterilized glass jars.

How to sterilize jars - my way

1. Wash and thoroughly dry the glass jar.
2. Heat the glass jar in a microwave for 1-2 minutes. Be careful when you remove them form the microwave - very hot.
3. Hold the metal lids over a flame for a few minutes.

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Tomato Pickle in winter?

Why Not? During the height of summer when the tomatoes could not be all utilized be it using them up or giving them away or selling you can preserver them for use during the winter months. The tomatoes in the stores at this time of the year are tasteless and they just satisfy the need for a tomato in a recipe but nothing else.

Stewed and frozen tomatoes

When you grow tomatoes you realize not all of them look pretty and well formed. There are some that have to be used right away. Collect a bunch of these and like the method followed in this recipe for making pickles stew the tomatoes, cool them completely. Put them in Ziploc bags or plastic boxes and push them to the back of the freezer. While whole tomatoes can be frozen just as they are and used for curries, pasta sauces and chutneys, stewed tomatoes can make a very tasty tomato thokku pickles.

If you are not growing tomatoes but come summer when tomatoes flood the farmers markets and super markets, buy them when they are cheap. Moreover some of the markets sell a day or couple of days old tomatoes at almost throwaway prices. So watch for those as well.

Frozen red chilies

Come winter they come really hand when you are craving for something tomato and tasty. While I have been postponing using the stewed tomatoes, they came handy when I was running out of pickles and getting tired of the store bought pickles and craving for some home made pickles.

I also had frozen hot chili peppers which also came in handy for making of these pickles. Thaw up the stewed tomatoes, minced the red chili peppers with garlic and proceed to making the thokku pickle. These thokku pickles are versatile, they can be used as a spread for sandwiches, as a rice mix and even for cooking fried rice. So it is condiment that is not a luxury but a necessity.

Pickled and ready to use

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