CONTEST Jams & Jellies: Peach Butter

Peach Butter
An original recipe by BumbleBeeBoogie

Good commercial Peach Butter is hard to find and is expensive because it must be made in small batches. Most commercial peach butter is made of pureed peaches. I like my method much better. Peach Butter is my favorite toast, biscuit, pancake and waffle topping as well as for other uses, such as a topping for vanilla ice cream, or as a sweetener for coleslaw. When a small girl, I helped my mother make peach butter. My job was to feed the peeled peaches through a meat grinder to make the little rice-size peach pulp.

9 large ripe peaches (cling or freestone or a mixture of both for better texture and flavor)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 strips of orange peel (zest only, no white part), 2-1/4 inches each
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (divided)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Peel and pit the peaches. Run the peaches through a medium-cut meat grinder. I prefer the meat grinder method because of the better rice-size texture it creates. If you don't have a meat grinder, chop the peaches into small chunks, or alternately, you may puree the cooked peaches in a blender. Put the peaches into a large saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. If you chopped the peaches by hand, using a fork, mash any large peach chunks remaining.

Transfer the peaches to a large clean pan and place over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice and rind strips, 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is very thick, about 8 minutes. Remove and discard the orange strips and stir in the remaining lemon juice.

Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal. Or let cool, place in a covered container, and refrigerate for up to one week. Makes 2 cups.