Roasted Hot Sauce with Peaches

Enjoying the Summer Heat with some kick? I am. I love anything to do with chili peppers.  I really missed growing them for the last two years out in Texas. The patio just didn't have enough sunlight to really support those fiery fruits. Luckily, Mom has been bagging and freezing all those cayenne and jalapenos that she's been growing.

Now, I typically love habaneros but those peppers tend to knock more than just the socks off people. So I’m toning it down with some more palatable peppers. I like my sauce thick and creamy instead of watery like you get from the bottle. And since I'm trying to use what is in season, I’m going to use peaches and yellow grape tomatoes to add a little bit of sweetness to cut some of the heat. Sauce will look the color of rich medium-dark caramel once finished cooking.  

If you’ d like it much sweeter and less tangy, use nine large peaches, no tomatoes, 3/4 quart apple cider vinegar, and one quart less peppers. Personally, I like my sauce to have some tang and only slightly sweet. And this how I brought the heat...

Roasted Hot Sauce with Peaches (makes 15 pints)

On two large sheet pans, bake at 350. Rotate peppers every 20 minutes, do this twice. And then turn oven off and let rest for 20 minutes in oven (cook time 1 hour),

• 1 gallon bag of whole cayenne peppers, stem removed
• 1 gallon bag of whole jalapenos peppers, stem removed
• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed to remove paper shell
• 2 medium white onions,1/2 inch sliced
• Extra Virgin Olive oil to coat everything

After peppers have cooled down. Place roasted peppers, onions, garlic into food processor. Blend on high and place in large sauce pot with lid on low-medium for 30 minutes. 

Note: I pureed the yellow grape tomatoes in the processor after the pepper mixture. This helps remove all the small pepper pieces left in the processor to add back into the sauce and so you can keep the tomato skins.

• 1 quart apple cider vinegar
• 1 pint of yellow grape tomatoes, pureed
• 3 large peaches, peeled and crushed
• 2 T salt

After mixture has simmered and peaches break down, use hand blender to smooth out sauce. Add filtered water if too thick to blend. Place sauce in clean mason jars for canning.

Peach Hot Sauce

I used 12 pint size jars and one 4 oz jar for canning. And I used one quart and one 4 oz jar that I put in fridge to use now.

Submerge jars with lids in a water bath that will come to a boil for 15 minutes. Remove and wait to hear a pop sound for each jar. That means its sealed.

You can make a much smaller batch. But this should last you all year and enough to share with some friends. Enjoy! :)

Peach Jam Preserves

Oh peaches, how you've alluded me... As long as I can remember, my Father's Mother always had peach trees in her back yard. If I was lucky Grandma would make peach cobbler which fortunately she did make some for me this past week. :)Yum! Sadly, something has caused her tree's peaches to rot this year and she only had enough to make one cobbler with five peaches. I'm suspecting the culprit is some type of beetle that has infested the tree. 

Well, next best option in Huntsville area to get fresh Peaches is Scott's Orchard in Athens. They have the best peaches, seriously Georgia has nothing on these peaches. I snagged a small basket of six and used three large ones to make this batch of jam. As peaches cook, they will look pinkish orange to a medium dark orange once they are canned. For this recipe, I added a little warmth to the preserves by using fresh cardamon pods. I took one pod and smashed with the flat side of my knife. Removed the seeds and mashed with pestle and mortar to make fresh cardamon powder. It's such an aromatic spice, I love it almost as much as cinnamon.

Small Batch Peach Jam Preserves

Peaches dusted with cardamon and nutmeg

In 4-quart pot, heat on low-medium

·        3 C fresh peaches, chopped

·        2 T fresh lemon juice

·        3 T filtered water

·        1 pinch of nutmeg (1/8 t)

·        1 pinch of fresh cardamon (1/8 t)

·        6 T sugar (organic preferably)

When most of the peaches have cooked down, add

·        3.5 T pectin

Continue to stir to ensure pectin is evenly distributed and turn off stove. Prepare Jars for Canning.

Peach Jam

I choose to place jam into five 4-oz mason jars for canning. 

Submerge jars with lids in a water bath that will come to a boil for 12 minutes. Remove and wait to hear a pop sound for each jar. That means its sealed.

Enjoy! :-)