Yes, I did Melly - half light brown sugar added to the peaches, the other half of the sugar is cane sugar added to the pan. Used the last of the bottle of Frangelico, just barely 6 oz, in place of the rum. Like you said about the peaches, the nectarines were sorry but the jam is fantastic. I figured the Frangelico being hazelnut would do the same thing for nectarines that almond does for peaches. I made your Peach Vanilla Almond (no beans) Jam today, with clear vanilla extract (1 tsp) and almond extract (1/2 tsp) added at the end. I got 6 8-oz jars, plus a half dozen chunks and some syrup left in the pan. I had boiled the pits (some not quite ripe so chunks left on the pits) and peels, planning to make the Peach Honey or syrup, but had 4C of juice so decided to put that in the pan with a small slice of ginger and a quart of frozen (thawed) blackberries from last year, pulled some berries out after heating to dissolve the sugar, used the same "French plunge" method adding the reserved berries after the syrup was almost gelled. I'm not sure I have a good set, and most of the fruit ended up in the first 4 jars (I got 5), and it's floating, but I'm calling it "Preserves" if it doesn't set hard. I got another 2 jars of "jelly" (or syrup?) I processed and then another almost 12 oz (10 oz?) I put in the fridge and boy it tastes yummy. Not bad for 4 lbs of peaches and a quart of berries (and 10C of sugar, and all day)! The jelly is such a beautiful color (except for a stray seed here and there) that I think next time I'm just going to add blackberry juice instead of whole berries and see whether that has enough pectin to make the peach juice set. I really prefer the taste of no-pectin preserves. Next time I have peaches, I'm thinking of trying the Helen Witty Peach-Rum Jam. Just had to have something the kids could eat this time since DD was the one who insisted I buy 6 lbs of peaches at the orchard this week ;-) Thanks for the recipe!

OK, it was just re-posted by request July 19, but here it is again: APRICOT AND VANILLA JAM Makes three to four 1-cup jars 2 1/2 pounds apricots 3 3/4 cups sugar 1 cup water 2 vanilla beans, split in half Juice of 1 small lemon 1. Pick: Only perfect and perfectly ripe apricots will do. 2. Array: Assemble your tools: Copper jam pan or other medium-sized heavy low stockpot, canner or large stock pot, ceramic bowl, skimmer, wooden spoon, ladle, sieve, jar-lifter, tongs, candy thermometer, timer, parchment paper, clean dish towel, 4 1-cup Mason jars plus new lids, bands and labels. 3. Macerate: Rinse apricots in cold water. Cut them in half; discard pits. Mix apricots, sugar, water, vanilla beans and lemon juice in the bowl. Cover with parchment paper, pressing gently so paper touches fruit. Refrigerate 1 hour. 4. Simmer: Scrape apricot mixture into the jam pan. Bring to a simmer. Pour back into bowl. Press on parchment paper and refrigerate overnight. 5. Sterilize: Next day, wash jars, bands and lids. Set aside bands. Put lids in a small saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes. Let lids sit in hot water. Set jars in a stockpot. Fill pot with water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Let jars sit in hot water. 6. Boil: Set the sieve over the jam pan. Pour apricot mixture through the sieve. Remove and discard apricot skins; set aside apricot halves. Bring accumulated juices to a boil. Skim thoroughly and continue cooking on high heat until syrup reaches 220 degrees on the candy thermometer. Add the reserved apricot halves. Bring to a boil again and cook 5 minutes. Continue to skim carefully and stir gently. Remove the vanilla beans and cut into 2-inch lengths. 7. Fill: Use jar-lifter to grab 1 jar in its hot water bath. Tilt to empty, carefully. Ladle hot jam into hot jar, right up to the top. Add a length of vanilla bean. Wipe top edge with a clean damp cloth. Use tongs to set 1 hot lid on top. Screw on band. Turn jar upside down to seal and cool.* Fill the rest of jars in the same way, one at a time. 8. Store: When cool, check that the lids are concave, indicating a good seal. Label and store on a cool, dark shelf up to 1 year. -Adapted from "Mes Confitures" by Christine Ferber *The USDA considers inversion canning inferior to this boiling-water process: Follow the recipe above, leaving 1/4-inch headroom in jars. Wipe rim, set on lid, screw band finger-tight. Keep jars upright. Transfer to a canner and process 5 minutes. Lacking canner, set a round cooling rack or several inverted ring bands in the bottom of a stockpot. Fill pot with water. Bring to a boil. Using a jar-lifter, lower filled, sealed jars into the pot until submerged by 1 inch. Cover pot. When water returns to a boil, time 5 minutes. Lift out jars. Cool. Store up to 1 year. For details and high-altitude adjustments, see homefoodpreservation.com. Carol

I have read that Madagascar were the best, but how would I know? lol That is what I buy... I have never done taste tests on the others! Jessy, do you know what kind the half lb from Costco for 13$ was? Vanilla Beans - Our Madagascar Vanilla Beans are the highest quality available. They are highly prized by the Pastry Chefs who use them for their wonderful flavor and freshness. They are used extensively by Pastry Chefs and Gourmet Cooks around the world. Congratulations to Team USA, finishing 1st Place in the 2002 World Pastry Chef Championship using our vanilla beans! These Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans (the best variety) are prized for their fragrant strong flavor. Our vanilla beans are very large ( 6 in. - 9 in. long), soft, plump and fresh. Please call us for large quantity discounts. Our very Large Gourmet Vanilla Beans are 100% Completely Organic Grown and PAREVE ~ Kosher certified! These large soft beans are the best you will ever use and taste. When properly stored, they stay fresh for up to 1 year.

The stems are brittle, so be careful to not bend them too tightly. Although, if they do break you'll have another plant. Some of mine are up over 20 metres in trees and it took a while before I found out they were flowering up there. Later I planted some on a much smaller tree stump (about 3 metres tall) . They sprawled around the top a bit and flowered at that height. Some I've got on a 1.5 metre stump haven't flowered at all. Whatever height they need, they also need to sprawl and hang down a bit. If they've still got room to go up they'll keep climbing and not flower. I did see a comment on a forum once (and only once) of there being dwarf varieties, but I don't know how accurate it was. Or maybe they were thinking of a different species of vanilla.