# Ball Blue Book Peach Preserves



## ecugal (Jun 23, 2009)

Has anyone made the Peach Preserves recipe out of the Ball Blue book? I put up a turn last night and it was very runny. I followed directions to the degree and this is honestly the first time I've had anything fail in my 5+ years of canning. So frustrated. 

If you've made thie recipe, was yours thin? I suppose I could keep it and drizzle in on biscuits or ice cream so it's not a total waste.


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

I make peach preserves every year, but I use the recipe on the box of SureJel pectin. I will say that my peach preserves are always runny at first, and take about a week to set properly.


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## upnorthlady (Oct 16, 2009)

Yep - this happened to me last year, too. I followed the recipe to the letter, but it was runny. But we adored it for ice cream topping. I was going to try it again this year and hopefully end up with more topping! I find that sometimes even the Ball Book isn't quite right. A good example is canned potatoes. They say to par boil (blanch) for 10 minutes. Good grief, by that time, plus pressure canning for 35 min I end up with mush! I only par boil for 2 minutes - seems to work out good for me.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

ecugal, you don't have your approximate location in your profile, so I can only guess - was it raining when you made the preserves, by any chance? The weather can affect the outcome of jams and jellies, too.

Upnorthlady, I agree with what you said about the potatoes.


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## marvella (Oct 12, 2003)

i found that a thermometer helps a lot in getting good results. never did get the hang of sheeting off a spoon to test for done.


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## ecugal (Jun 23, 2009)

Pixielou: I'm encouraged that they might set as time passes. Thank you for this glimmer of hope! 

Sally: I'm in Piedmont, NC. Incredibly humid yesterday, but not raining. I knew humidity affected candy making; I had no idea jams & jellies could also be affected. 

Upnorthlady: Thank you for the potato advice. Our stand is in full bloom now.


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## jmtinmi (Feb 25, 2009)

upnorthlady said:


> I find that sometimes even the Ball Book isn't quite right. A good example is canned potatoes. They say to par boil (blanch) for 10 minutes. Good grief, by that time, plus pressure canning for 35 min I end up with mush! I only par boil for 2 minutes - seems to work out good for me.


I don't par boil potatoes at all. I dice and rinse 1/2" cubes. Put into jars, add boiling water & salt, and then immediately put into a canner for processing. They turn out beautifully.


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

It happened to me last year too, following the recipe exactly. It wasn't raining it was hotter than blazes last summer.


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## bugstabber (May 12, 2002)

Those kind of things always have uses, you mentioned ice cream topping & biscuits. I was thinking pancakes. If you like to play in the kitchen, think of a glaze for ham and maybe peachy hot wings? I had some rhubarb jelly that didn't set up one year and it made it's way into bbq sauce, and lots of other dishes.


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## ecugal (Jun 23, 2009)

ohhh that sounds good. I didn't consider using it as a marinade. I think it would be good on pork chops, too. YUM!

And: great news. It's already thickening up. Yesterday when I came home from work it seemed to be thickening a bit, but the fruit had settled all at the top. So, I gently rocked the jars to mix up the fruit and syrup, and sure enough, this morning it was still fully incorporated throughout each jar. As of lunchtime today, one jar has thickened completely. Whew!!!


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

My peach glazed hams are famous in my family.


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## ecugal (Jun 23, 2009)

Will you please share your glazed ham recipe? I'd love to try it.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

jmtinmi said:


> I don't par boil potatoes at all. I dice and rinse 1/2" cubes. Put into jars, add boiling water & salt, and then immediately put into a canner for processing. They turn out beautifully.


I'm so glad to read this. When I canned potatoes last year I followed the recipe in the pressure canning booklet. 

They said to par-boil them, too. The only jar (or two) that came out nice were the ones I undercooked. 

The others were edible, but too dark. Lesson learned.


stef


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

ecugal said:


> Will you please share your glazed ham recipe? I'd love to try it.


I just glaze them with the peach jam that does not set up properly.
yum


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## ecugal (Jun 23, 2009)

It's been a week, and I checked the preserves last night and they are all set up nicely! Yes, yes, yes!


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