We both love the addition of the Champagne
vinegar which I was floored that she had in her pantry but you can substitute
for either white wine vinegar or rice vinegar. The end result has a very
interesting flavor of the sweet sour from the sweetness of peaches and tart
sour from the vinegar. The cardamom gave it also an earthy taste and the
pistachios were meaty as my sister used the jam on her favorite vanilla ice
cream.
This conserve was also good with the pork that my
sister made for dinner as a dipping sauce when we warmed it a little. This
would be really good on goat cheese as an appetizer adding the additional
saltiness that you definitely get from the pistachios.
This recipe is an
adaptation of the original recipe in the magazine.
Peach Honey Pistachio Conserve
5 cups fresh peaches, about 5 medium
1 cup honey
½ cup water
¼ cup champagne vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped pistachio nuts
½ t. ground cardamom
Preparation: Prepare 6 half pint
jars in hot water. Using a knife peel and chop your peaches. your apricots
and chop them. Chop the pistachios.
Cooking: In a stainless steel
pot combine peaches, honey, the water and vinegar. Heat over medium till
boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until peaches are tender,
stirring occasionally. Stir in the sugar and return to boiling. Now
reduce the heat again and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the
nuts and cardamom and fill jars. The recipe will be a bit runny like a soft marmalade since you don't add pectin.
Processing: Ladle
jam into hot, sterilized half pint canning jars, leaving 1/4"
headspace. Remove air bubbles and refill if necessary. Wipe rims, and add
hot lids and rings. Place the jars in the water bath making sure that the
water covers each of the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add hot water to the canner if
it doesn't measure up. Cover the pot and turn up the heat under the canner and
wait for the water to start boiling. Once the water has come to a boil start
your timer for 10 minutes. When complete turn off the heat and remove the cover
and let the jars sit for another few minutes. Remove the jars and place them
back on the dishtowel in a place that they will sit overnight to cool. Do not
touch or move them till the next morning.
Sealing: Sometime in the next
hour your jars will be making a "pinging" or "popping"
noise. That is the glass cooling and the reaction of the lids being sucked into
the jar for proper sealing. Some recipes may take overnight to seal. Check your
lids and reprocess any jars that did not seal.
Freestone peaches have pits, or stones, that are not strongly attached to
the flesh of the peach. They are either loose within the center of the peach or
pop out easily with just a little pressure. Clingstone peaches
have pits that are very strongly attached to the flesh of the fruit and it is
almost impossible to remove them without losing a significant piece of the
peach along with it.
