Peachy Orange Marmalade

* I am not including the instructions for canning with this recipe. Check Ree’s post for strawberry jam and follow her instructions regarding bottle prep, etc.

Prepare peaches, keeping the peel and the pits. The peaches should give you about 12 cups once prepared. Drain the maraschino cherries, keeping the juice. Sugar is an even ratio to the peaches, so about 12 cups of that, too.

Remove the seeds from the oranges and put them into a food processor until they are chopped into small bits. Put the peach pits and skins into a cheesecloth and tie tightly. Put the peaches, sugar, oranges, cherry juice and cheesecloth-wrapped mix into a large pot and bring to a boil. My grandmother’s recipe says to simmer until a bit of the mixture cooling on a plate “puckers or wrinkles,” but I just boil the mixture until it reduces to the consistency I like.

While that is boiling, chop the cherries into quarters. Remove the cheescloth with the peels and pits. Add the quartered cherries and the almonds (the recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of almonds, but I like a bit more). Stir well and put into your bottles. Makes about 16 small (around 1 cup) bottles.