Nothing says summer like fresh peaches in August, perfectly ripe and dripping with fresh juice. I wish I could bottle up that deliciousness, and canning jars of peach jam is basically the next best thing.
This peach jam is far easier than it looks, and is a simple enough recipe for beginners. I’ve also included a handy video for you to watch too.
And finally, in my peach jam recipe, I blend the fruit instead of mashing it. I’m in the stage of life where boiling peaches and then putting them in an ice bath feels like too much work and time that I don’t have. By blending the peaches, skins and all, I same myself the work, but don’t end up with those odd looking strings of skin in my jam. Somehow flecks are far more palatable.
(Sorry Grandma for not eating your jam as a kid because there were strings of peach skins. I now understand why you didn’t take the extra steps to get rid of them, and how silly I was not to eat them.)
Easy Peach Jam Canning Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 peaches
- 4 cups white sugar
- 1 package pectin
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash peaches, remove pits, and slice. Blend peaches in a food processor for 10-30 seconds, depending on if you like bigger chunks of fruit in your jam or not.
- Sterilize jars you'll be using for canning be either boiling for 10 minutes, running through a bottle sterilizer, or cooking in the oven for 10 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil the lids and rings in water for 10 minutes.
- Cook peaches, sugar, and lemon juice in a tall pot.
- Cook on medium high heat, stirring frequently. Add the pectin when the mixture boils.
- The pectin package says to boil for one minute, but I frequently find that my jam never sets with that short of a boil. I suggest boiling for 3-5 minutes.
- Turn off heat and pour jam into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace..
- Clean off any spillage on the rims with a clean cloth.
- Put on lids and secure with rims. Boil in water for 10 minutes. The water must be at least 1 inch over the top of the jars.
- Remove after 10 minutes and set jars on a clean towel. Do not tilt the jar as you remove it, as that could compromise the seal. Do not move jars for 24 hours.
- If you have any jars that don't seal, or a jar with too much headspace, put it in the fridge and use that one first.
Notes
If you live at a higher altitude, you will need to boil everything for longer to sterilize it. Please consult this guide.
If you watch the video, you'll notice that I add in the pectin before boiling. If you use regular pectin, this is fine. If you use liquid pectin, you add it in after the fruit and sugar boil.
For those of you who prefer to watch a video, here’s exactly how I did it. Just don’t mind the crying baby, video bombing seven year old, frizzy hair, and extremely messy and cluttered kitchen. Or, let them make you feel better about your own life and know that you can do this too.
Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots. She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden. She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.
