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clear mixing bowl holding 8 cups of dice peaches sitting on a wooden cutting board with peaches ready to be diced

Peach Jam

Homemade peach jam with no pectin required makes for a delicious way to preserve the peach harvest and enjoy well into the winter
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings: 8 half pints
Course: condiment
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 8 cups fresh peaches measure when peeled and diced, about 12-16 medium peaches
  • 5.5 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • optional flavor enhancers: 1 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or any combination

Equipment

  • 1 water bath canner or large stock pot
  • 1 large sauce pot or stock pot
  • 1 knife
  • 8 half pint jars with lids and rings

Method
 

  1. Step 1: peel peaches of skin and de-seed, then dice or rough chop the peaches and put into a large soup or sauce pot on the stove. Peaches may need to be blanched for easier peeling. See below for the best way to peel peach skin.
  2. Step 2: add all other ingredients to the pot with the peaches.
  3. Step 3: cook peach mixture on medium-low heat, stirring very often as not to stick, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The liquid will significantly reduce during this time. At about 30 minutes, do the plate test below to check for readiness. During the cook time, prepare the jars, lids, and rings. Do this by washing jars with warm water and soap. If you prefer jars to be sanitized, dishwasher the jars or add to the oven on 230 degrees Farenheit for 15 minutes. Lids and rings should be washed with soapy water as well. Rings should not be rusted. This may affect sealing.
    Start your water bath canner by boiling water, enough water to cover the tops of the half pint jars by 1 inch.
  4. Step 4: add jam to each jar leaving a 1/4 inch head space.
  5. Step 5: using a clean, moistened paper towel or kitchen towel, wipe the rim of the jar to remove any jam before adding the lid and ring. Tighten to finger tightness.
  6. Step 6: carefully place each jar into the water bath canner and allow the water to reach rolling boil again. Once water is at a rolling boil, start the timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes of processing, turn off the heat and allow the jars to sit in the water for 5 more minutes.
  7. Step 7: carefully remove each jar from the canner and place on top of a towel in an out of the way place to rest. Each jar will cool best with 1 inch spacing between the jars. Drape another towel over the jars for their 12-24 hour rest time to allow the jars to cool slowly.
  8. Step 8: once cooled, label each jar with name and date. Or use the provided free printable label from this post!

Notes

Recipe makes about 8 half pint jars of peach jam.
More fruit jam recipes at www.johnsonhomeNC.com