Nectarine Vanilla Bean Jam

Prepare an ice bath and set it aside—you’ll need it in a few minutes. Sterilize your jars, lids and rings according to standard safe canning practices.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. To peel the skin off your nectarines, drop the whole nectarines into the pot of boiling water for 30-40 seconds. Use a slotted spoon and remove the nectarines from the boiling water and immediately submerge the fruit into the ice water bath. Use a sharp knife to gently peel the skin away from the flesh. Remove the pits. Chop the flesh and measure enough to equal 4 full cups.

Place the chopped nectarines and lemon juice in a large pot. Use a potato masher to crush the fruit, leaving a few larger fruit pieces if you prefer.

Use a sharp knife to scrape the caviar from the vanilla bean pods and add the caviar to the pot. Add the vanilla bean pods and sugar to the pot and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.

Then increase the heat to medium-high and bring the fruit mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the liquid pectin. (I’ve used 1 pouch for a slightly thinner jam, or 1-1/2 pouches for a thicker jam.) Return to a full boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off the foam with a metal spoon. Remove vanilla bean pods.

Ladle hot jam into sterilized half pint jars, leaving 1/4″ head space. Wipe jar rims and add lids. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Remove jars from the water bath and cool on wire racks.

Makes 6 to 7 half pint jars.

Original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Can It Cookbook.