A few weeks ago, I made Apricot Bourbon Noyaux Jam – while the flavor is perfect, I wasn’t satisified with the soft set.  When I came home from the North Market Farmers Market with 25 pounds of perfectly ripe peaches from Wayward Seed Farm yesterday, I had the opportunity to take a second shot at a stone fruit-bourbon jam. Incidentally, I visited a few bourbon distilleries in Kentucky last weekend, so I had a little more insight on what goes into great bourbon. Sampling a bunch of brands also reconfirmed for me that I like Woodford Reserve the best. But I did have fun dipping a bottle of Makers Mark in red wax.  

 

Woodford Reserve uses a bit more corn in their blend than the other distilleries I visited, so I thought sweet corn would be an interesting addition to a bourbon jam. While I won’t be aging the jam for seven years in oak barrels, there is more of a complexity in the flavor of this batch compared to my first batch of apricot-bourbon jam.
 
 
Peach-Bourbon-Sweet Corn Jam
3 1/2 pounds of ripe to slightly underripe peaches, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp Woodford Reserve bourbon
2 ears of sweet corn, pre-cooked and removed from cobs and rinsed
1 package of pectin
5 1/2 cups sugar
Peeling ripe peaches is really easy: just dunk them in boiling water for 30 seconds, and the skins slip right off.

Add the diced peaches (and any juice from them) and lemon juice to the pot, and cook until boiling, lightly mashing as they cook. Add in 1/4 cup bourbon at this stage, then add the sweet corn kernels – it’s important you rinse as much starch from them as possible, or you’ll get a cloudy jam. Cook until it boils, then add the pectin. Bring to a hard boil then cook for one minute. Add the sugar and remaining 2 tbsp of boubon, bring to a hard boil, and cook for one minute. Turn off the heat, and ladle into sterilized jars. Process in a bath of boiling water for 10 minutes.

Simmering deliciousness

3 1/2 pounds of peaches made 10 JARS!

I was a bit nervous, because this jam didn’t set up immediately. The leftover bit I put in the fridge set up pretty immediately, but the 10 jars I left on the counter remained liquidy all night. But when I woke up today, it had set really nicely! And it tastes great too – the sweet corn adds flavor and texture that reinforces the bourbon, but the peaches shine through it all.

The finished product