Each summer I am on the hunt for “the” perfect peaches. You know the ones I’m talking about…the ones that taste like those fresh peaches my family would pick up at the roadside stands dotted along the country roads as we made our way to Myrtle Beach every summer.

I am so lucky that ETC Produce and Provisions, my favorite vendor at the Findlay Market, brings in South Carolina peaches each year. This year the selection is extra special and finding “the” perfect peach was easy. I miss those family trips to the beach but I am thankful I can create delicious peach dishes with my favorite peaches.

During the summers spent with my grandmother affectionately known as “Mammy,” I learned how to can. My grandmother was a practical woman. She was a widow, raising 5 boys while working a full-time job as a nurse for the head of a tobacco company. She cooked using fresh seasonal ingredients. Mammy did not spend her money on convenience foods unless absolutely necessary. She wanted to make sure that my Dad and his brothers had the freshest foods. Mammy saw canning as the way she could provide them with their favorite seasonal fruits and vegetables long past the growing seasons. Her pantry had shelves of all sorts of beans, tomatoes, and many varieties of jams and jellies. My favorite was her peach preserves and she always saved a jar just for me. Always one to experiment with out of the ordinary food combinations, I add a jalapeño to her recipe and that’s my curious twist. She was a feisty lady so I know she would approve of my spiced-up version. Try it over cream cheese, served on your favorite cracker or add a zing to your Buttermilk Biscuits. No matter how you spread it I know it will be delicious. You can count on it.

INGREDIENTS

1 fresh red pepper

1 fresh green pepper

10 fresh jalapeño peppers

4 cups peaches, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

5 cups sugar

1-2 ounce box of pectin powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Core and seed peppers, cut into chunks. Place the peppers in food processor, pulse unti chopped finely. Drain off all liquid, set peppers aside.

2. Over medium heat, add vinegar, sugar, peaches and the chopped peppers to saucepan. Boil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Spoon foam off of the mixture as needed. Add box of pectin to the mixture and boil for an additional 1 minute. If more foam rises to the surface, continue to remove it.

   Ladle the jelly into sterilized jars leaving a 1/4-inch space . Wipe the rim of the jar with a clean, damp rag. Place a lid and ring on each jar, tighten, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

3. Remove jelly jars from water bath, allow to cool and rest to let jelly fully set up. This could take 1 - 2 days.

Or, if you’re looking for something similar, try out our In the Curious Kitchen Hot Pepper Jelly and Strawberry Jalapeno Jam.

Yield: 12 half pint jars

For a perfect peach dessert try my Peach Crostata, it is the perfect dessert to use up your end of summer peaches.