Making my own peach jam is one of the best things I do all summer! The jam tastes just like summer’s sweetest ripe peaches. I love opening up a jar in the winter and spreading one of my favorite summer fruits on biscuits and toast. It is like opening a jar of summer when it is cold and snowy out! I always make some extra jars to give as gifts at Christmas because everybody loves it so much.
This year I ran out of peach jam months before the peaches are set to ripen. Considering how weird 2020 has been I’m not going to call running out of jam a tragedy but I was pretty bummed. This year I’m planning on several batches so I have plenty for myself and plenty to give out at Christmas time.
Making Peach Jam To Get The Most Out of Summer All Year
I love all homemade jam but peach jam is one of my favorites! I grew up next door to a peach orchard. Many of my childhood memories are of peaches so ripe the bruised at a touch and the juice ran down your arm when you bit into the fruit.
Peaches are one of those fruits that are best bought from a farm and only in season. Nothing else is quite the same. I like to freeze bags for peach cobbler, can peaches and can plenty of peach jam! It is one of the great ways to enjoy amazing peach flavor all winter.
My version of peach jam has some chunks instead of being a true jam just made from fruit puree. I know this makes it a little bit closer to a true peach preserves recipe but this is how I think of peach jam so we are gonna go with that.
You can also include your kids in the process if they are old enough to be careful of a hot stove. It is a great way to teach them more about the world and how food is made. Anybody can open a can of jam from the store. It is a different experience to combine ingredients and create jam from fresh food .
Homemade peach jam is made with real sugar so it is also healthier than many of the corn syrup options you find at the store!
How to Make Peach Jam
Making homemade jam sounds like a lot of work but the process is simple.
- Prepare the fruit.
- Cook the fruit with sugar and pectin while stirring.
- Puree or mash the fruit as much as you want.
- Fill your jars with cooked jam and process them in the canner.
Next thing you know you have peach jam on your shelves to enjoy all winter! This is one of those cooking projects that is absolutely worth it!
Information for Beginning Canners
You don’t have to be a master canner to enjoy putting up a few batches of food for your family this summer. Even my four year old son helps me can jam! I say this to make sure you don’t get intimidated about canning.
There are simple rules to follow for safe canning and all the questions you have can be answered in a few minutes. I suggest new canners start with my Water Bath Canning for Beginners Tutorial. It covered questions about equipment, safety, altitude, and gives loads of great tips!
Before you know it you will feel confident about canning and enjoy the process.
More Peach Recipes To Love
I’m a bit of a peach nut! Make sure you check out these other wonderful peach recipes to get the most out of peach season!
- How to Can Summer Peaches
- Peach Melba Jam (Peach and Raspberry Jam)
- Home Canned Spiced Peaches (My Grandma’s Recipe)
- Cinnamon Swirl Peach Bread
- Easy Peach Cobbler
How to Make Peach Jam With Beginning Canning Tutorial
Ingredients
- 7 cups peaches, chopped about 4lbs
- 5 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 7 1/2 Tablespoons powdered pectin called RealFruit classic pectin in Ball brand
- 5 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
Prepare the Jars and Peaches
- Wash the jars you are going to use.
- Fill your water bath canner about half way with water and set aside. Put a metal kitchen spoon in the freezer to check consistency of jam later.
- Blanch peaches in boiling water for 30-45 seconds per batch. Plunge them into an ice water bath as each batch finishes. Slip skins from the fruit.
- Peel peaches and chop into medium-small chunks. As you chop stir in 1 cup of the sugar to keep peaches from browning. Tip: I used the Vidalia Chop Wizard tool for uniform, small dice. I put halve a peeled peach through at a time.
Make the Peach Jam
- Measure pectin into one small bowl and the remaining 4 cups of sugar into another. Place peaches, lemon juice and butter in a large pot on medium-high heat.
- Use an immersion blender or potato masher to puree jam until it reaches the consistency you desire. When using the chop wizard I don't blend the jam any more so that I get some nice chunks of peach in the jam. It can be done either way.
- Turn water bath canner on high and to bring to a boil.
- Slowly add pectin to fruit stirring constantly.
- Bring fruit mixture to a full boil, then add the sugar. Stir until it returns to a boil, then boil 1 minute continuing to stir constantly. The jam will look thin even though it is ready.
- To check the consistency of the jam, dip the frozen spoon into the pot. Run your finger down the back of the spoon - the consistency on the cold spoon is the consistency of the jam as it sets.
Can the Jam
- Fill pint or half pint jars with a wide canning funnel. Leave 1/4" - 1/2" headspace. Wipe the rim of each jar down with a clean, damp towel to make sure it is perfectly clean
- Place a lid and ring on the jar.
- Place your jars in the water bath canner. Make sure there is enough hot water to cover the jars by 2". Bring the water back up to a full boil and process for the recommended processing time.
- Pints and half-pints should be processed a minimum of 10 minutes in a water bath canner. If you live above 1,000 feet add more time to adjust for altitude: 1,001 - 3,000 feet add 5 minutes. 3,001 - 6,000 feet add 10 minutes. 6,001 - 8,000 feet add 15 minutes. 8,001 - 10,000 feet add 20 minutes.
- Remove jars to towels after processing and allow the lids to pop down - no poking!
- When the lids have sealed the jam is ready to store. Any jars that don't seal should be refrigerated or processed again.
- Once the jam is canned it can be stored out of direct sunlight up to two years.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
MirlandrasKitchen.com is written to share great recipes. While we do our best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline, we are not registered dietitians and the values provided here should be considered estimates – not exact scientific data.
I read each and every comment and I try to respond to questions asap, so ask away! If you’ve made a recipe, I would love to hear about it! Please come back and share your experience and give the recipe a 5-star rating so other people will know how much you loved it!
Mirim says
What?!? No canned tomatoes? No tomato sauce, thick and savory? Maybe a friend will give you a couple bushels of tomatoes and you will relent.
Mirlandra says
I know. It’s very sad. I have grand plans for next summer’s canning season. Tomatoes are on my radar along with pickles and some new jam experiments.
Britt says
I tried to make this recipe, but it only made 4 1/2 pint sized jars. Should it read 10 half pint jars?
Mirlandra says
I’ve looked back at my notes and it also says 10 pints. I’m sorry – I’m not sure what happened! I will be making my peach jam in a few weeks and will double check the yield then 🙂
Amy says
Tastes good but the yield was off. I doubled the recipe and only made 10 1/2 pints.
Mirlandra says
Hi Amy, I’m not sure what happened. I am about to make my peach jam for this season so I will double check the yield numbers when I do just to be sure. Sorry about that!
Linda says
I only got 13 half pint jars. But it is delicious!
Mirlandra says
Thanks, Linda! I think I might have my yield notes wrong. I’m going to make my own batch here soon and double check my yields. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Deana Mandigo says
How long does it take before the jam should be set? Rather how long will it be not gelled before I have to worry that I did something wrong?? 🤪 thanks.
Mirlandra says
Hi Deana – Great question. If the jam has cooled overnight and still isn’t set something has gone amiss. If things are not going well be brave and try again! I know it can be intimidating but I promise with some good tips and careful measuring anybody can make amazing jam! There are a bunch of notes in the post that can help you. The cold / frozen spoon trick will really help you know when things are setting! Good luck!
Wanda Lykins says
I am making some jam but I have had the peaches in the refrigerator for about Two weeks can I still use the peaches or are they no good to use now ???
Mirlandra says
Hi Wanda – Great question. I’m afraid I’m probably too late to help you, sorry about that. The entire family has been sick for the last few weeks and we are just now back on our feet! Peaches do sometimes last well in the fridge but it depends on how ripe they went in there. I would use the nose. If you can see or smell mold than toss them. Otherwise you are good to go! Hope that helps in the future.
Nancy says
I want to use 1.5 oz. jars to give as gifts. Would the canning process be the same?
Mirlandra says
Yes it would!
Jodi King says
This was my first attempt at what I would consider real canning. I had a surplus of peaches that needed used. This recipe proves to be beginner friendly. My initial sugar coating peaches may have gotten me a little off on total cups of peaches and was a tad late adding the pectin to the mixture. Even with those slight hiccups, I yielded 9 beautifully sealed half pints and a half jar for sampling. DELICIOUS! Not sure if everyone anxiously awaits as I did, but I patiently waited and counted my 9 lid pops.
Thank you for the recipe and I will definitely share and make again-
Jodi
Mirlandra says
Thank you, Jodi! I’m so glad this was something you enjoyed. It is one of our favorite summer treats! And you are not alone – love listening for the pops of the jars and knowing our food is sealed up and tasty for winter! I hope this is just the beginning of your canning adventures!
Tammy says
I’d like to use pint size jars but all recommendations that I’ve read says that I shouldn’t use pint size jars for jam. Also curious about the processing time for a pint size jar. Should I process it longer than the half pint, longer than 10 minutes?
Mirlandra says
Isn’t canning crazy? I have seen the weirdest things! I’ve never read anything about not using pint size jars for jam. I wonder if they are thinking it is just too much jam to eat? I have three kids and we make our own yogurt and stir in homemade jam so in my life sometimes I put jam up in quart jars!!! I use pint size jars all the time. The processing time is the same for pints and half pints in this recipe. Enjoy!
TC says
I put too much sugar in!!!!! 7 cups!!!!!!! HELP!!!
Mirlandra says
Hey there! I’m probably too late to help. However, you might actually get away with it. This is one of those things where it could work out or it might not set. It depends on a lot of different things I can’t know about what you are doing. I will say though that when jam doesn’t set it is often a wonderful syrup! Nobody has to know you meant to make jam 😉
Ashley says
If the jam does set is it still shelf stable and okay to eat?
Mirlandra says
If you processed it in a canner according to directions it absolutely is! And if you “just” pulled the jam and noticed it was a bit runny take heart that it often firms up as it cools.
Sharon Lilly says
Question. I cut and froze fresh peaches this season. As they thawed, there is juice . Should I pour this juice off before starting? It makes sense that had I used them while they were fresh, the liquid would have been inluded .
Mirlandra says
Hi Sharon – Great question! I just froze about 18 bags of peaches to get us through the winter – can’t beat them! You should be fine to use the juice. You are correct it is just what is released from the fruit when the cell walls break down some in freezing. Boiling would also break the cell walls down and so if you had the fresh fruit and boiled it for jam you would have the same breakdown of juice release that you get with freezing – it just wouldn’t be so dramatic in appearance. Make sure your measuring is accurate and you should be set. I will say that when I use frozen peaches for cobbler I usually don’t use all the juice because it can make for a much wetter cobbler.