Homemade Peach Preserves

The perfect spoonful of sweet summer, these homemade peach preserves are a family favorite, on toast, biscuits and cornbread or stirred through yogurt.

Peaches were my mother’s favorite fruit so their rich fragrance always brings me good memories of her. I often made peach preserves just for her, so she’d have jars to enjoy all year round. 

Homemade Peach Preserves

If you don’t have peaches, this recipe works with most stone fruit, for instance, nectarines, apricot and plums. 

Ingredients

2 lbs or 910g fresh peaches

3 1/2 cups or 700g sugar, divided

Half pack pectin - Just less than 1 oz or about 25g (I use the Sure-Jell brand and the box says 1.75oz or 49g.)

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 cup or 60ml lemon juice

4-5 clean, sterilized jam jars

Wide-mouth funnel for filling jars

 

N.B. Make sure your jars and lids are thoroughly sterilized because this quick canning method does not require a hot water bath or pressure cooking. If you have any doubts whatsoever, store the jam in the refrigerator once cooled.

 

Method

Halve your peaches and remove the pits. Cut them into thick slices.

In a large pot, add your peaches with 3 cups or 600g of the sugar, the sea salt and the lemon juice and give it a good stir.

 

Cook over a low to medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming any white foam that forms around the top. The peaches should start falling apart and turning to pulp.

Get your sterilized jars ready for filling by lining them up on some paper towels (to catch the inevitable drips onto your countertop) and inserting a metal teaspoon into each one. A wide-mouth funnel will make this so much easier! Put the funnel into the first jar, at the ready.

 

Meanwhile, mix your pectin with the remaining half cup or 100g of sugar.

 

Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool for just a few minutes. Use your hand blender to puree the mixture to your desired consistency. I like to blend half and leave the other half as it is. If you don’t have a hand blender, you can use a blender/liquidizer or leave the peaches as they are. 

Return the pot to the heat and add in the sugar/pectin mixture. Mix well and bring the pot to a full rolling bowl for at least a minute.

Ladle the boiling hot jam into the clean jars, moving the funnel along as you go. Do be careful not to splash jam on yourself.

 

Remove the teaspoons and screw the lids on the jars very tightly, using a towel to hold the jars and turn the lids, starting with jar one. When you get to jar three or four, start over at number one, trying to tighten them all just a little more.

 

Turn the jars upside down so that the hot jam further sterilizes the insides of your clean lids.

Leave the jars upside down until the jam has completely cooled, which could take several hours. Turn the jars upright and check that the center button on the lids have popped in, if your lids have those. 

Any jars whose buttons have not popped in should be stored in the refrigerator as this means the seal is not good and bacteria could get in. If the jam lasts that long. :) 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are celebrating National Peach Month by sharing recipes with peaches! Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day of the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below. 

• A Day in the life on the Farm: Fresh Peach Salsa 
• Food Lust People Love: Homemade Peach Preserves 
• Sneha's Recipe: Keto Peach Iced Tea 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Peaches and Cream Mini Cheesecakes 
• Our Good Life: Peach and Prosciutto Flatbread 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Peach Baked Oatmeal 
• Culinary Cam: Roasted Peach-Tomato Gazpacho with Crème Fraîche

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Easy Pastina Soup

This Easy Pastina Soup is comfort food for when you are under the weather and need something delicious, rich and nourishing, made with chicken stock and vegetables, and, of course, tiny pasta aka pastina.

It's been quite a while so I can’t remember if it was me or someone else in my immediate family that was feeling under the weather, in fact, it might have even been my neighbor. But I was texting with a dear friend and she sent me the recipe she said she always makes when her family is sick. 

I had all of the ingredients so I made it right away. It was sooo good that it became one of my favorite go-to soup recipes whenever we are feeling poorly as well. The soup is rich and full of vegetables and flavor, a true delight with the tiny pasta aka pastina.

Easy Pastina Soup

This soup is very forgiving so I haven’t given exact weights for the vegetables. Aside from the garlic, the amounts of the other veggies should be more or less similar but if you have a little more carrot and a little less celery, don’t stress over it. That said, the one onion in my pantry was tiny, so I also used a shallot to make up the difference. 

Ingredients 

10 1/2 cups or 2 1/2 liters chicken stock

1 yellow onion

3 celery ribs

3 carrots

4 garlic cloves

salt as needed

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup or 200g pastina, drained (any small pasta shape, such as orzo, little stars, or tiny macaroni noodles – macaroni will weigh less, being hollow)

Parmesan or Pecorino Romano to serve

Method

Peel and chop your carrots and onion. Peel and slice your garlic. Chop the celery ribs. 

Add the stock to a large pot and heat over high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Bring the contents to a boil.

Once the broth is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and semi cover the pot with a lid. 

Cook for 45-60 minutes or until the veggies are all super soft and the quantity of liquid has reduced. Taste for seasoning and adjust with some salt, if needed. 

If you have a hand blender, remove the pot from the stove and puree all of the vegetables directly in the pot.

If you don’t, use a slotted spoon to transfer the veggies to a blender, along with a couple of ladles full of broth. Blend until the mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the blended mixture back to the pot of broth and stir. 

Give the whole pot a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Meanwhile, in another pot, boil the pastina in salted water. Drain and return to the pot to keep warm. 

To serve, add a generous serving spoonful of the cooked pastina to the bottom of a bowl then ladle the soup on top. 

Sprinkle with some grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. (I totally forgot this step for the photos!)

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 16th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter P. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the P recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Easy Pastina Soup
• Sneha’s Recipe: Grilled Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Peas and Pepper Pasta Salad
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Pasta and Pea Soup
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Pineapple Salad
• Blogghetti: Easy Pumpkin Pie Crescent Rolls
• A Messy Kitchen: Maple Pecan Fudge
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Pasta with Preserved Lemon
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Peach Crumble Pound Cake (Cake Mix Recipe)
• Culinary Cam: Brunede Kartofler (Danish Caramel Potatoes)
• Magical Ingredients: Pepper and Cheese Dip
  
  
  
  

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup – this post! 

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Cheddar Beer Muffins #MuffinMonday

Possibly my favorite muffin so far (and I’ve been baking them for #MuffinMonday for 13 years!) these cheddar beer muffins are tender and savory. They are the perfect snack. 

Lately, you may have noticed, I have been baking smaller batches of muffins, either six or nine because 12 is a lot. This time, I baked 12 because 1. mature cheddar and 2. beer. I knew we would love them and I was right. 

Completely unheard of, but we EACH ate THREE while they were still warm. The rest disappeared quickly over the next two days. 

Cheddar Beer Muffins

If you are a fan of savory muffins, do give these a try. I used a European pale lager (1664) and Cathedral extra mature cheddar for these. Substitute your favorite beer and sharp cheddar. 

Ingredients

4 oz or 113g extra sharp cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping, if desired

2 1/2 cups or 313g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

A few generous grinds black pepper

6 tablespoons or 85g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for the pan

1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk 

2/3 cup or 156ml beer

1 egg

Method

Grate the cheese and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it with butter. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, black pepper and baking powder.

Add in the grated cheddar and stir till well coated.

In another bowl, whisk together the butter, yogurt and beer. 

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold till just combined.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. 

Sprinkle the tops with extra grated cheddar, if desired. 

Bake for around 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins are well-risen and golden.

Remove them to a wire rack to cool. 

You can serve them with a little butter while still warm but they are also excellent plain!

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month, which means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the great muffin recipe links below.

• Carrot Cake Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheddar Beer Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Funfetti Muffins from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Zucchini Cornbread Muffins (Small-Batch Recipe) from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice 
• Zucchini Bread Muffins from A Messy Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page. 

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