Carolina Marmalade

Not yo’ mama’s mamalade. Peach me, I must be dreaming. Old schoolmarm-alade.
Sorry. I got carried away with the bad puns.

Did you know that South Carolina produces more peaches than any other state in the U.S.? Yes...even more than Georgia, aka, The Peach State. Well, we are in high peach season here in the upstate and I had a “hankerin” for some homemade peach jam. So, I sent Jon down to the local fruit stand to get me some fresh peaches. He scored! The guy that ran the place gave him thirteen peaches for $1.00!! Yes, $1.00. One. One dollar. Yay! So yesterday was the day to jam. Jammin’. We be jammin’. Again, sorry. Anyway. Here’s the deal-io on the recipe. It’s SO good. It doesn’t just have peaches and sugar. Oh no. All kinds of textures and flavors are going on in there. Coconut, cherries, orange juice and almonds. Yep, you heard me. Almonds. This is more than jam….its an indescribable, palate pleasing cacophony of tongue pleasing sensations. (Wow…that’s a lot of big words for me.) You have GOT to try this. Trust me. Your tongue and the tongues of your family members will thank me.

Carolina Marmalade

5 cups peeled and mashed ripe peaches (about 9 - 10)
1 1/8 cups orange juice concentrate – thawed
7 ½ cups sugar
3 6-ounce packages of Certo
1 ½ cups flaked coconut
¾ cup slivered almonds
20 maraschino cherries – cut in 1/4 ths
1 teaspoon butter

Combine mashed peaches and orange juice concentrate in a very large pan. Stir in sugar and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in Certo, coconut, almonds and cherries. Return to heat. Skim off foam with a metal spoon. Keep skimming and stirring for seven minutes. Add butter during 7 minutes. Ladle into clean jars and seal. Place marmalade in refrigerator.

NOTE: I do not seal these in the typical "canning way". I ladle the jam into CLEAN, STERILIZED jars up to an inch below the top of the jars. Place the lids and rings on then turn the jar over and let it set until cool. When you flip it over you should be able to see the lid is sealed down nice and tight. Then place the jars in the fridge. They keep this way for a long time.

Our cast of characters

Peaches!!!

As it boils, it will start to foam...like this

You'll need to skim the foam off with a spoon

All done boiling with the other ingredients added.....

Aww...look! Look at the yumminess!!