Peach and Blueberry Curd

Peach season is a great season. It's a season of sweet and juicy fun. Add a little blueberry and it is even better.

Our little family finally got our hands on a lovely flat of peaches and the thought of peach preserves filled our heads as we drove home. Eating peaches is always a good way to ensure no peach turns bad. However, canning peaches ensures we have the peaches for future uses.

I've been in a curd mood lately and the thought of a silky peach curd was just so tempting. As I eyed the tub of chubby blueberries I wanted to see what an addition of blueberry to a peach curd would be like. So here's the outcome of a peach and blueberry relationship.

I wanted a light tasting curd, but a curd that had enough substance to be used as a spread on toast. So I used a combination of both whole eggs and yolks.

Recipe:

• 3 large peaches
• 3/4 c chopped blueberries
• 1 vanilla bean (sub. 1t extract)
• 3 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 3 oz. butter (approx. 6 T / cut into cubes)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t lemon juice

Hardware:

• whisk
• rubber spatula
• medium pot
• 2 500ml Mason jars with sealers and rings
• stick blender or masher or food processor
• slotted spoon

The yeild for this recipe is just under 2 jars approx. 500 ml each. However, this does depend on the size of your peaches, it may fluctuate a little.

Give the jars a good wash and then you have to sterilize them. There are a variety of different ways to sterilize and for this canning session I chose to sterilize them in the oven.

Set your oven to 225°F and set the jars and rings (not the sealers) on a baking sheet and slide them in the oven. Let them sit in the oven for at least 20 minutes, then turn off the oven and keep them in there until you're ready for them. THEY WILL BE VERY HOT! once you're ready for them, please use tongs or oven mitts to handle the jars and rings. Take the sealers and place them in a small pot of very hot water (not boiling) and leave them until you're ready for them.

Since curd is smooth, you are going to need to peel the peaches. Peeling peaches is never fun. Those balls of goodness are slippery little suckers and messy. The easiest way to peel a peach is get a pot of water going to a rolling boil. As the water boils, fill the sink with ice cold water. Once both the hot and cold water are ready, carefully lower the peaches into the boiling water with a slotted spoon. Let them sit in the boiling water for 20 - 30 seconds (I was distracted by my children and they ended up in the bath for just over a minute, and they were still great). Remove them from the water and immediately put them into the sink of ice cold water.

Wait until the peaches are cool enough to handle and simply wipe the skin away. You can either use your fingers to gently peel/wipe the skin away, or use a paper towel to gently wipe them away. Set them aside. Easy peasy!

Even though curd is smooth I chose to use chopped blueberries for this recipe. Blueberries have a tendancy to take over a recipe, especially in colour. Since I wanted to have the peaches shine through in taste and colour I chopped my blueberries to keep things under control. However, if you want to have a completely smooth curd, measure out the blueberries and set them aside until the next step.

Making curd is probably one of the easiest toast-spreads to make. That being said, you really need to give a curd your undivided attention. So choose a time when you can take 20 minutes for you and your curd.

In a medium sized pot slice up your peaches. I used my stick blender to cream the peaches so that there were no lumps left. You can use a masher to get a similar consistency. If you would like a completely smooth curd here is where you'd add your blueberries to have everything blended together.

Once the peaches (and blueberries) are blended add the sugar, lemon juice, salt, vanilla bean (not the whole thing, cut open the pod and scrape out the beans and add only those to the curd), and finally all the eggs.

Whisk the peach slurry until mixed.

Bring your pot to the stove and turn on the heat to Medium. Set your timer for 20 minutes.

Now whisk! Gently whisk the peaches so the eggs don't curdle and the mixure doesn't burn on the bottom.

The mixture will begin to bubble after about 13 minutes. Keep whisking gently!

Now, some people leave this step until the full cook time is up. However, I begin whisking my butter in with about 3 minutes remaining. I add 2 cubes of butter each time and gently whisk it in until the butter has melted. I keep adding the butter until all of it has been added. If the timer goes off while you are whisking the butter in, remove the peach curd from the heat and continue adding the butter. If you were unable to get your peaches completely mashed or you have some curdled egg, now is the time to strain your mixure. Strain your peaches into another bowl so the curd is smooth. My curd didn't need to be strained.

Once your curd is as smooth as you want it, fold in the blueberries and mix only until the blueberries are evenly distributed.

CAREFULLY remove the HOT jars from the oven. If the opening of your jars is small, grab a funnel to avoid a mess. Carefully pour the hot peach and blueberry curd into the jars, leaving half and inch head room on each jar.

Lid each jar and tighten the rings finger-tight. Leave to cool and listen for the canning "pop".

The curd will thicken over the next few hours. Place in fridge to further cool and solidify.

Store in the fridge for up to 30 days unopened and 2 weeks in the fridge opened.

I did not "can" this curd since it is such a small quantity and won't last that long in our fridge. However, if you are not going to use this curd right away please follow proper canning steps to finally can your Peach and Blueberry Curd.