Isn’t it mind-boggling to think about how the brain so tightly intertwines memory with sense of smell? I’ve always wondered why that is. After a little investigation, I learned that the olfactory (sense of smell) cortex is embedded within the brain’s limbic system and amygdala, where emotions are born and emotional memories stored. That’s why smells, feelings and memories become so easily and intimately entangled (Natalie Angier @ NY Times).
When you put a sweet, ruby-red and yellow marbled fruit up to your nose, what comes to mind? For me, the smell and taste of peaches immediately evoke memories of warm, summer mornings frolicking through orchards in the Texas hill country (and Arkansas), sneaking sweet bites instead of placing the fruit in my basket. “I just couldn’t find any ripe ones!” an 8-year-old me would exclaim, juice conspicuously dripping down my chin.
Later on, we would put these peaches to a variety of delicious uses, my favorite being fresh peach cobbler. And today, as I long to preserve the nostalgia that peaches engender, I have come up with a much more practical, approachable (and healthy) way to preserve peaches than, say, freezing 10 cobblers or gallons upon gallons of peach ice cream. This cinnamon peach butter is a delicious way to savor summer all year long. Sandwiched between buttery biscuits, spread across toast, or dolloped atop vanilla ice cream, the possibilities are as endless as the summer days are long. ¡Buen provecho and happy summer!
- 5 pounds ripe peaches
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- juice and zest of one lemon
- Prepare jars for canning using preferred sterilization method (see below for canning guide). Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Meanwhile, fill a large bowl halfway with ice water. Once water is boiling, dunk peaches for about 30 seconds and then remove to ice bath with a slotted spoon. Continue this process until all peaches have been blanched and are resting in ice bath. At this point, the peels should be very easy to pull off. Dump out ice water, peel all peaches and cut into small pieces (about 8 pieces for each peach) and put into bowl used for ice bath. Now, dump out water from large pot and add peaches and 1 cup water.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes to cook. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender), blend peaches until smooth. If using regular blender, return to pot and add sugar, cinnamon sticks, and lemon juice and zest.
- Bring to a gentle boil/rapid simmer for about 45-50 minutes until thickened. If butter remains rounded on a spoon (without dripping) for about 2 minutes, it is done.
- Remove cinnamon sticks, cool butter (if not canning) and place in a sealed container. This will last in refrigerator for several weeks. If canned properly, it will last indefinitely.
Sterilize your jars and lids by either:
a) Boiling them in a large pot of water for about 10 minutes
b) washing with hot, soapy water and placing jars only in a 200 degree F oven for 20 minutes.
To can:
Divide peach butter into jars and leave a little room at the top. Add lids. Submerge sealed jars in a large, deep pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Use canning tongs to dip and remove them. The lids should make a "pop" sound about 2-10 minutes after removed from water. That's how you know they are safely sealed and ready to enjoy whenever! (Peach butter should last indefinitely at room temperature.)
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