Peach season is almost over. It’s time to preserve one of New Jersey’s great summer products. There are a ton of different ways to accomplish that goal but one of the ways that I preserved this great summer treat was to make a big batch of peach butter. This was an event for me. I went to Chester, NJ and picked the peaches that I used at Alstede Farms. I started with about twenty pounds of peaches…which granted, is quite a bit. I then chopped the peaches up, blended them, seasoned and cooked them until very thick.

Never heard of peach butter? It’s just like apple butter and made the exact same way. It takes a bit of time but it really is very simple to make. I made mine with just a handful of ingredients and kept it a bit chunky rather than the traditionally smooth texture that you find in most markets.  One of the things I like about making peach butter myself is that I can control the sweetness.  Peaches are quite sweet on their own.  I used honey instead of regular sugar and didn’t use a whole lot at that…I used about a quarter of a cup of honey for the entire 20 pounds of peaches.  Feel free to adjust the sugar amounts as you’d like and you can certainly use regular sugar instead of honey.

I preserved my peach butter using a canner and this recipe makes about 10 pints. So, feel free to scale the recipe up or down based on the yield amounts you’d prefer. I’m new to canning so I’m not going to provide details on how to can…I’m just not comfortable with that yet. However, it’s very easy to find instructions if you care to do that. All it takes is a simple google search and you’ll be well on your way. If you don’t can the peach butter, it will last at least a couple weeks in the refrigerator.  Recipe follows after the jump.

Ingredients:

20 Pounds New Jersey Peaches

Juice of 2-3 lemons

2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Dash of Cardamom

Dash of Cloves

2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

¼ Cup Honey

Instructions:

• Cut peaches in half and remove the pit.  Coarsely chop the peaches.
• Place peaches in blender or food processor and blend/process until a smooth/chunky consistency is achieved.  If you prefer to make traditional peach butter, blend/process until smooth.  Depending on how many peaches you are using, you will have to do this in batches.
• Places peach puree in large pot and add all other ingredients.  Stir well and taste.  Adjust seasonings to taste.
• Over medium heat, bring peaches to a boil stirring often.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for around an hour or so stirring often.  (You have to babysit this…it’s the only hard part of the process!)
• Once the peach butter has reduced and thickened to a consistency you are pleased with, remove from heat and allow to cool.  Place in jars or an air tight container and either store in refrigerator or proceed to canning process.