

Musical pairing – Black Horse And The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall

I could tell you that I’ve made both cooked jam and freezer jam . . . I could also tell you that I prefer freezer jam because somehow, it tastes fresher (at least to moi) . . . or I can tell you that I’ve had a change of heart towards cooked jams . . . or maybe a change of tastebuds, I’m not sure. But what I will tell you is that this recipe right here . . . this White Cherry & Peach Jam . . . rocked my world . . . oh yes it did . . .

The heavens opened and the stars lined up when I came across this recipe last fall and in that one kismet moment, I knew I’d found jam nirvana. I could hardly contain myself until spring when I knew I’d be ordering the book; since its arrival, the book has spent the last month on the kitchen table . . . open . . . I’ve flipped through the pages at least every other day, giddy with excitement over the combinations of fruits and/or herbs.

When I think back on my days at the little house on Ankeny street, I vaguely remember my mother making cooked jam that was sealed in jars with paraffin – strawberry I think . . . and maybe some grape jelly. I also remember being fascinated by that thick layer of paraffin and how you took a butter knife around the edge of the jar to break the seal . . . sometimes, at the very last minute, that chunk of paraffin would flip . . . right onto the front of your jammies, rolling all the way down to the floor leaving a trail of strawberry evidence behind. And how sometimes, little teeny bits of paraffin would be left on the very top of the jam to be scraped off with the edge of a spoon or the tines of a fork.

My auntie Velma (who doesn’t like her name and always wanted to be called auntie Toni . . . but that’s another story for another time . . .) taught me how to make freezer jams when I was a teenager – minimally cooked and placed into freezer-safe containers, then stored in said freezer for the winter; and for the longest time, these were my favorite kinds of jams to make. It was quite exciting – having all that wonderful sugary goodness stored in the house. There was something comforting about knowing rows of jam were lined up on shelves in the basement . . . waiting to be ushered into the kitchen and made into sandwiches, spread on morning toast, swirled into oatmeal or drizzled over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

This Peach & White Cherry Jam is one of those combos where you say to yourself, ‘why didn’t I think of that?!’ Make sure you purchase the freshest peaches and cherries you can get your hands on and don’t substitute vanilla extract for vanilla bean – that one-inch piece brings the entire jam together in a glorious symphony! The color is a sight to behold and the taste is nothing short of sublime . . . I think it would be perfect layered between slices of pound cake or drizzled over ice cream . . . but I will tell you this: the jam is simply glorious on a slice of morning toast or fluffy sky-high biscuit!

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