I am new to the site and I just started canning a few months ago. I found a couple of recipes that I want to make but I am hesitant because the sources are from blogs and I don't know if they would be safe for a water bath method. I am relatively certain that the acidity will be fine, but I don't want to poison any friends or family.

Peach bourbon

1 package no sugar pectin - I used Ball No Sugar needed box
6 pounds peaches
4 cups sugar
6 Tbsp lime juice
1 vanilla bean, split and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 Tbsp bourbon - I used Jim Beam
1.5 tsp almond extract

- The recipe suggests you blanch the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds, submerge in an ice bath and then slip off the skins, but my peaches were prudes and that method didn't work, so I just used a peeler. Chop the peaches roughly into 1/4 inch dice, removing the pits.

- Put the peaches, sugar, and lime juice into a large non-reactive pot and smash/blend the suckers into a rough pulp using either a potato masher or an immersion blender.

- Put the pot over medium-high heat, add the vanilla pieces and bring the peach mixture to a rolling boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Boil for 1 minute, then add the pectin. Bring the jam to a rolling boil once more, stirring constantly, and boil exactly 1 minute.

- Remove the jam from heat. Stir in the bourbon and extract, ladle the hot jam into jars, and screw on the lids. Then set the jars on a rack in a large pot of boiling water--the water should be 1 inch above the jar tops. I just washed the pot I made the jam in (the only big pot I own), put the jars in, made sure they were under an inch of water and turned it on high.

- Bring the water to a gentle boil and boil the jars for 10 minutes. Then remove the jars from the hot water and set aside to cool. You should hear the lids popping within a few minutes of their bath.

Fig Balsamic

1 pound of figs, stems removed and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Fresh lemon juice (about a Tablespoon)

Combine figs, sugar and balsamic vinegar in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce to medium low, maintaining a gentle simmer. Continuing simmering until jam thickens (this took me about 15-20 minutes). Stir in a tablespoon of lemon juice and taste the jam (be sure to cool your taste first). Add more lemon juice if desired. You can leave your jam chunky or use an immersion blender (stick blender) to puree until desired texture is achieved. I prefer a smoother consistency so I pureed the jam.

Store in a sealed container or jar in the refrigerator for up to a month. Or use a canning method to process the jam. This recipe yielded exactly 2 one half pint jars of jam. However I did not process them as I plan to eat them asap.

Also, can I double, triple or quadruple the Fig recipe since it doesn't use pectin?

Thank you for your help and sorry it's so long!

As far as I can tell, the recipes look ok. It does seem like a lot of sugar for that amount of peaches and a no-sug pectin, but I'm not familiar with Ball brand, preferring Pomona's myself. My peach recipes are generally 1-1 1/2c per 4lbs peaches. And, I generally add liqueur to most all my jams too.

There's also a more recent thread called confused about pectin that discusses some interesting things you might like.

I don't see anything wrong with either recipes. The figs are a low acid fruit buy there is plenty of added acid.

However doubling much less tripling recipes is seldom recommended. You risk no set and/or scorching the jam before it can cook down enough.

Dave