Summer Ripening

How do you know that summer has finally arrived? What is the greatest seasonal indicator in your house? For many people, the sound of the air conditioner running in a continuous hum is a dead giveaway. For others, pool floats and beach towels are the biggest clue. At our home, summer has fully arrived with the advent of fresh peaches.

Our family truly adores fresh produce, so this year, my husband and I tried something different. We ordered fruit from the Peach Truck.

For those that don’t know, The Peach Truck is a fruit purveyor that shows up in local communities loaded with cases of summertime beauties straight from the groves of the Peach State.

My husband ordered a “small amount”, a mere 25 pounds, because, as he told me, “We can do so much with them.”

Now, to be fair, they are lovely peaches. Sitting on my counter, they are ripening into their glory. We have already enjoyed their sweetness in fruit salads and, of course, a pie. And then we had to have jam.

Years ago, my mother found a recipe for tropical peach jam that I used to make when I had a house full of children.

The jam is wonderful, and my husband is delighted by the whole canning process. The smell of cooked peaches is the language of love to him, so he is in heaven as I work.

As I watch my husband savor a jar of preserves, I’m convinced that eating homemade jam for a few months was his plan from the very beginning. Funny how our bumper crop of deliciousness is working out in his favor.

Now all I have to do is to process the other fifteen pounds of peaches. After all, it is sweet summertime!