Peach Jam

We love peach jam at our house. Likewise, it’s a great way to preserve summer fruit to enjoy for months to come. The process is very similar for many fruits. Most canning recipes for fruit include adding sugar. We like to use a low-sugar recipe and pectin for jam making. This means we aren’t adding quite so much sugar to our diets and the jam has more of that delicious fruit flavor!

Finding a recipe

Above all, for your and your family’s safety, use a modern canning recipe for whatever you are canning. As research has developed, so have the thoughts on how to safely can food. Also, a water bath canner is great for canning high acid foods, such as fruit, tomatoes and vinegar pickles. But vegetables and meat should be canned safely in a pressure canner.

Food in Jars and Preserving by the Pint are two great books for small-batch canning. For instance, if you have just a small portion of produce to can.

The All-New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving is a great resource, but many of the recipes in it are also available for free on Ball’s canning site Fresh Preserving.

We also like Pick Your Own as a wonderful resource for great basic canning recipes, as well as information on freezing produce and finding pick-your-own farms.

For this peach jam, we used the basic recipe in the package of Pomona’s Universal Pectin, which can be used for no- or low-sugar canning.

Ingredients and Equipment

• 4 cups peeled and chopped peaches
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp calcium water (calcium powder is provided in the Pomona’s pectin)
• 3 tsp Pomona’s Universal Pectin
• Water bath canner
• Jar lifter/tongs
• Lid lifter
• Canning funnel
• Ladle
• Clean half-pint jars and lids

Preparing the peaches

1. Place clean peaches into boiling water for a minute or so.
2. Remove peaches to the ice water bath for a minute or so.
3. Skins should peel off easily.
4. However, watch out, those things get pretty slippery and more difficult to cut without their skins!
5. Finely chop the peaches.
6. Using a potato masher, break the peaches down further, if you like.
7. Stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice.

Preparing the jars and canner

1. Wash your jars and lids.
2. Fill the canner to 1-2″ over the half-pint jars and start getting it hot.
3. Get jars and lids hot. I use the canner but keep it from boiling until the jars are full.

Mixing up the peach jam

1. In a pot, combine the chopped peaches with lemon juice, the calcium water and a small portion of the sugar with pectin mixed in. The lemon juice and calcium water help the pectin to do its work of gelling. In addition, mixing the pectin with a bit of sugar helps the pectin dissolve without clumping.
2. Once pectin is dissolved, stir in remaining sugar.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil that can’t be stirred away.
4. Fill hot jars with hot jam to 1/4″ headspace.
5. Turn up the heat on the canner to bring it to a boil while filling jars.
6. Wipe rims clean, add lids and finger-tight rings.
7. Process jars in the boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes before removing to cool.
8. Finally, wait for the satisfying ping of sealed jars, and store the jars away with the rings off.

This recipe made five half-pint jars to store away in the pantry to add the golden crown to future pieces of toast or dishes of yogurt, plus a little extra for immediate enjoyment.

Shop the Supplies

• Food in Jars
• Preserving by the Pint
• The All-New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving
• Pomona’s Universal Pectin
• Water Bath Canning Kit

Watch the Video

Peach Jam

How to make and can homemade peach jam from fresh peaches from Georgia

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups peeled and chopped peaches
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp calcium water calcium powder is provided in the Pomona's pectin
• 3 tsp Pomona's Universal Pectin

Equipment

• Water bath canner
• Jar lifter/tongs
• Lid lifter
• Canning funnel
• Ladle
• Clean half-pint jars and lids

Method

 

1. Wash your jars and lids.
2. Fill the canner to 1-2" over the half-pint jars and start getting it hot.
3. Get jars and lids hot. I use the canner but keep it from boiling until the jars are full.
4. In a pot, combine the chopped peaches with lemon juice, the calcium water and a small portion of the sugar with pectin mixed in. The lemon juice and calcium water help the pectin to do its work of gelling. Mixing the pectin with a bit of sugar helps the pectin dissolve without clumping.
5. Once pectin is dissolved, stir in remaining sugar.
6. Bring the mixture to a boil that can't be stirred away.
7. Fill hot jars with hot jam to 1/4" headspace.
8. Turn up the heat on the canner to bring it to a boil while filling jars.
9. Wipe rims clean, add lids and finger-tight rings.
10. Process jars in the boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes before removing to cool.
11. Finally, wait for the satisfying ping of sealed jars, and store the jars away with the rings off.

Notes

This recipe made five half-pint jars to store away in the pantry to add the golden crown to future pieces of toast or dishes of yogurt, plus a little extra for immediate enjoyment.

Reveal of the first peach What’s in the Mason Jar here!