Peach Blueberry Jam with Vanilla

Inspired by Chez Panisse Fruit (which arrived this week) and the peaches at the farmer's market, I made a Peach Blueberry Vanilla jam today. The aromas coming from this stuff as it cooked were incredible - enough to make you wish you could stand over the boiling pot for the rest of time. As the blueberry syrup thickened, it began to smell faintly like sweet potatoes, but maybe that was just me.

~2.75 lbs yellow peaches
.75 lbs blueberries
4 cups sugar
juice of 3 lemons
2 vanilla beans

I blanched the peaches for 1 minute, then cooled in ice water, to make them easier to peel. Cut into wedges and add 3 cups of the sugar, one vanilla bean and the juice of 2 of the lemons, bring to a simmer and then refrigerate overnight. Do the same with the blueberries and the remaining sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. The next day, boil the syrups (I did them separate, but I don't see what harm would come from combining them) until they pass the saucer test and then add the fruits and bring back to a boil. Boil together for a few minutes and then jar immediately. I used half-pint jars this time, and this recipe filled 7 of them. I also boiled the jars, because of Kyle's scary stories about botulism. I cut the vanilla beans into pieces and added them to each jar as a garnish.

This jam looks like it's going to be *incredible*. The smell of cooking peaches (esp. with vanilla) makes me wish I'd been making peach jam my whole life.