Duraznos en Conserva de Tlalpujahua

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide copper cazo from Santa Clara del Cobre or heavy stainless preserving pot
• •Large nonreactive bowl for the agua de cal
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Slotted spoon
• •4 clean quart canning jars with new lids
• •Water-bath canner with rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the fruit

   Use small peaches that smell ripe but still feel firm in the hand. If the fruit is bruised or mealy, make jam, not conserva. If peaches are not good in the market, wait for the season. Tlalpujahua preserves are orchard food, not supermarket punishment.

2. 2

   Make limewater

   Stir the food-grade calcium hydroxide into 3 quarts cold water in a nonreactive bowl. Let it settle for 10 minutes, then pour the clear limewater into a second bowl, leaving the gritty sediment behind. This is the old firming step. It keeps the peaches from collapsing in the syrup.

   Use cal para nixtamal or food-grade pickling lime only. Construction lime has no place in food. Así se hace y punto.
3. 3

   Blanch and peel

   Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut a shallow X in the bottom of each peach. Lower the peaches into the water for 30 to 60 seconds, just until the skin loosens. Move them to cold water, then peel with your fingers or a small knife. Keep the peaches whole and leave the pits intact. Prick each peach 8 to 10 times with a clean needle or skewer so the syrup can enter without tearing the fruit.

4. 4

   Firm the peaches

   Lower the peeled peaches into the clear limewater and weight them with a plate so they stay submerged. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool running water three times, turning the fruit gently with your hands. You should not feel any slippery residue. The peaches should feel slightly firmer, not hard.

5. 5

   Build the syrup

   Combine 8 cups water, the piloncillo, canela, cloves, and salt in a wide preserving pot or copper cazo. Bring to a simmer and stir until the piloncillo dissolves completely. Simmer for 15 minutes, then strain the syrup through a fine sieve to remove grit from the piloncillo. Return the syrup to the pot and stir in the lime juice. The color should be deep amber and the kitchen should smell of canela, not raw sugar.

6. 6

   Poach the peaches

   Add the peaches to the syrup in one layer if your pot allows it. Keep the heat low enough that the syrup moves gently around the fruit. Cook 25 to 35 minutes, turning the peaches carefully once or twice, until a skewer enters with slight resistance and the edges begin to look translucent. Do not boil them hard. A hard boil breaks the flesh and clouds the syrup.

7. 7

   Rest overnight

   Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the peaches cool in the syrup. Rest 8 to 12 hours. If your kitchen is hot, refrigerate the pot once it has cooled. This rest is not laziness. It is how the syrup reaches the center without beating up the fruit. La paciencia es la regla del huerto.

8. 8

   Reduce the almíbar

   The next day, lift the peaches out with a slotted spoon and set them in a clean bowl. Boil the syrup over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until it coats a spoon in a glossy sheet and the drops fall slowly. Return the peaches to the pot and simmer 10 minutes to heat them through. The syrup should be heavy but pourable, not candy.

9. 9

   Pack the jars

   Pack the hot peaches into hot clean quart jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add one piece of canela to each jar if you want the convent look on the shelf. Pour in hot syrup to cover the fruit, keeping the same headspace. Slide a clean chopstick along the inside of the jar to release trapped air, wipe the rims, and close with new lids.

10. 10

    Process or refrigerate

    For pantry storage, process the quart jars in a boiling water bath with water covering the lids by at least 1 inch. Process 25 minutes below 1000 feet altitude; at Tlalpujahua altitude, process about 45 minutes. Check your local altitude chart if you live higher or lower. If you do not process the jars, refrigerate them and eat within 1 month. Sugar syrup is not permission to ignore a seal.

11. 11

    Rest and serve

    Let processed jars stand undisturbed for 12 hours, then check the seals. Any jar with a lid that flexes goes into the refrigerator. Wait at least 1 week before opening so the peach and piloncillo settle into each other. Serve one whole peach in a small green-glazed Michoacán clay bowl with enough syrup to shine around it. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy peaches in season, late summer into early autumn in the highlands. If they have no perfume, they have no flavor. Ask the women at the market which peaches are for eating today and which are for conserva. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •Use piloncillo, not refined white sugar. White sugar gives you a clear syrup. Tlalpujahua gives you a dark one, with canela and clove sitting inside the mineral sweetness of piloncillo. That is the point.
• •The agua de cal step is short and practical. It is not there for romance. It firms the fruit so the peaches stay whole after the overnight syrup bath.
• •Leave the pits intact and do not crack them. Whole peaches are preserved whole. Once you cut them open, you are making a different preserve.
• •If you skip the water-bath processing, store the jars in the refrigerator. The old despensa had discipline. Yours needs it too.

Advance Preparation

• •These duraznos are better after 1 week in the jar. The syrup darkens and the fruit absorbs the canela more evenly.
• •Properly processed sealed jars keep up to 1 year in a cool dark pantry. Refrigerate after opening and eat within 2 weeks.
• •Unprocessed jars keep refrigerated for about 1 month. Do not store unprocessed preserves at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)