Nectarine and Peach Jam With Lemon Verbena
- 1 lemon
- 3 pounds ripe nectarines or peaches, or a mix, pitted and sliced
- 730 grams sugar (3 and 1/4 cups)
- Pinch salt
- 10 sprigs fresh lemon verbena
- Grate zest from half the lemon and place zest in a large saucepan.
- Juice lemon and add the juice to the zest.
- Toss in fruit, sugar, salt and lemon verbena and bring to a simmer.
- Turn mixture into a large bowl and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, if you plan to can the jam, prepare the jars according to the instructions here.
- Strain the liquid from the mixture into a wide, shallow pot or large skillet, reserving the fruit.
- Bring liquid to a simmer and cook until it thickens enough to wrinkle on the surface when you push it with a spoon (a candy thermometer should read 220 degrees).
- Remove lemon verbena from fruit and add fruit to the pot with the syrup.
- Simmer fruit gently until mixture looks very thick and jamlike.
- You can test the jam to see if its ready by freezing a small plate.
- Drop a bit of the jam on the plate, let it cool for a minute and then push it with your finger.
- The top should wrinkle.
- If syrup is thin and runny, keep cooking and test again in a few minutes (return plate to freezer in the meantime).
- If canning, spoon into hot sterilized jars and process as directed.
- Otherwise, let jam cool, then store in refrigerator or freezer.
lemon, nectarines, sugar, salt, lemon verbena
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12761 (may not work)