I’m sure in a few more weeks I’m sure my perky outlook will wilt as I dig my way out of inches of snow and fail multiple times at keeping my nose warm.But, right now, I can’t wait. I have a secret weapon lining my pantry shelves that is sure to keep away the winter doldrums.
Like little bottle rays of sunshine, my pantry is stocked with homemade, canned peaches and jams and butters – just waiting to be used in cobblers, spread on toast or warmed with spices and topping fluffy pancakes on a Sunday morning.
The scars from creating these little warm, jarred jewels have long since faded away just as the last rays of summer have long since waned. When we moved into our house eight years ago, the first thing we did was plant a lone dwarf peach tree in our sloping front yard. Over the years blooms have come and gone, raccoons have stolen the last fruit that wasn’t quite ripe and we’ve had a few bites of green peach the only whispered at the full promise our little tree could create.
Then 2008 came. Something magical was in the air this year. Although my husband thinks it was the tree spikes he hammered into the ground.
Whatever voodoo happened this year, our poor little tree was weighted down with more than 100 pounds of glorious, sunshine-y bites of organic peaches.
But after giving some away, and after our chins were chapped from wiping away their juicy goodness. We had to get practical. What were we going to do with all of our tasty beauties?
My grandmother had a large kitchen garden and orchard and she was always able to capture the essence of the seasons through the jams, jellies, preserves and canned vegetables and fruits she had lining the shelves below the basement stairs.
We needed help. So we turned to the avid gardener in our lives, my mother-in-law. On one balmy summer evening in August we gathered in the basement of her ranch-style home. Huddle around pots of boiling water, jars, funnels, knives and spoons we learned about the enchanted, and rather sweaty and dangerous, joys of canning and preserve making.
I think we may have been a bit too inspired because over the next couple of weeks we ‘put by’ . . .
12 half-pints of plain peach jam
12 half-pints of peach, brown sugar and ginger jam
10 half-pints of peach butter
8 pints of brandied peaches
6 pints of pickled peaches
9 pints and 3 quarts of canned peaches
Plus, 16 cups of frozen, sliced peaches – and to mix it up a bit, some homemade ketchup.
Ahh.
So, why am I writing about all of the canned peachy goodness now? My birthday was recently and the one thing I’ve always wanted more than cake was homemade peach cobbler. Not the kind made in the peak of peach season (it is October after all) but one based on an old, classic that uses canned fruit.
I know, I should be in the culinary hall of shame.
Until my recent stockpile, I’ve used Osage freestone peaches that are ‘raggedy ripe’ and taste the closest to homemade canned peaches. Over the years, I’ve used a variety of frozen and canned fruits (berries are also wonderful) – but I keep coming back to the homey warmth of peach and the scents of cinnamon wafting through the house.
Essie’s Cobbler(I don’t know who Essie is – but that’s what grandma always called it.)
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup flour
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
½ cup milk (I use skim)
28 oz of canned fruit or 3 cups frozen, defrosted fruit
¼ to ½ cup granulated sugar – optional*
Cinnamon to taste - optional
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Blend the oil and sugar together completely. Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk – in thirds so it creates a smooth batter. Pour batter into a deep loaf pan or my newest preference, a deep cast iron enameled dutch oven. (Sometimes I mix the batter right in the pan). Then top the batter with your canned fruit – packed in light syrup is best. If your using peaches, I like to sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon. *If you’re using frozen, defrosted fruit, it’s best to toss it with a bit of sugar so in macerates and creates juice.
When the cobbler, which is cake-like, bakes it rises up through the fruit creating a nice, golden and slightly caramelized topping to the cake that lovingly blankets the warm, juicy fruit beneath.
Yum.
-GE, 10/23/09
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