We’ve all heard of wine and food pairings. Of tea and food pairings. Of fruit and cheese pairings.
Truth be told, I don’t think I’m very good at any of them.
I take that back. I’m decent at tea and food pairing, if only because I drink so. much. tea. and read so much about it. But let’s face it, I usually stick with chai.
Apparently, I can pair honey and food. Yes, honey.
I know what you’re thinking. ”But Julie, isn’t honey just honey?”
At the grocery store, maybe. At the Farmer’s Market? No. At least not at our Farmer’s Market, where Waid’s Honey offered at least 6 kinds last weekend.
Yup, honey from different flowers tastes significantly different. Who knew there was so much variety?
I tasted four flavors on Saturday: Sweet Clover, Wildflower, Buckwheat and Basswood, and immediately knew that Basswood was the honey to use for these canned peaches. Somehow, they had this faint undertone of peach flavors, and I just knew that they would pair perfectly.
If you don’t have access to Basswood honey, any honey will work. But it is worth a little extra look, because the Basswood takes them from “great” to “WOW.”
Honeyed Peaches
Makes 5-6 pint jars
4 pounds peaches
2 cups honey
1 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
Prepare for canning. Wash the jars and flat lids with hot, soapy water. Put the jars in the canning pot and fill the pot with hot water. Heat over medium-high heat to keep the jars hot. Place the lids in a heat-proof bowl.
Wash and pit the peaches. Cut into thin slices, approximately 1/2″ thick.
Combine the honey, sugar and water in a medium saucepan over low heat. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring regularly.
Move some of the boiling water from the canning pot into the heat-proof bowl containing the lids. Line the hot jars up on a folded towel, then pour the water out of the heat-proof bowl and off the lids.
Pack the peach slices into the jars up to 1/2″ below the rim. Carefully pour the honey syrup over the peaches so that it comes to 1/4” below the rim. Use a chopstick around the inside edges of the jar to get out the air bubbles (don’t use metal, you may scratch the jars and cause them to crack during processing!).
Use a clean towel to wipe any syrup off the rims, then top each jar with a lid and a tightened ring. Place the jars back in the canning pot and make sure they are covered by at least 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil and process for 25 minutes. Place the jars on a folded towel and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Check the seals of the lids after 1 hour. If a seal has not formed, refrigerate the jar immediately.
For information on how to can safely and more canning recipes, please visit my Food Preservations page.
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