About this Recipe

Growing up near a mecca of peach and other fruit orchards has been a glorious part of my life for so many reasons. There is always a friend or relative that has a big 'ol tree that needs to be cleaned or else the excess of fruit will simply fall to the ground and go rotten. This meant if we were willing to put in the elbow grease, we could have free fruit! It it just me, or when you are gifted something like this for free you are willing to put in the time and effort to fill as many boxes and buckets and bags as possible. Then you get home and go "woah- what do we do with all this now?!". Luckily, I grew up in a family who believes in preserving food into yummy recipes like this peach jam recipe. Check out some of Grandmother's Favorite Canning Recipes.

This year we wanted to try a peach jam recipe made with honey to see how it tasted and turned out. It is a little bit less 'jelly-like' and more like a thick sauce, but man oh man is it ever delicious. The peaches were so sweet they they didn't need much, but a bit of honey is always a treat. Honey is one of those precious foods that make us really appreciate the little bees that it comes from. In Grandmother's Kitchen we like to support healthy beekeeping practices like planting bee friendly plants in your garden like oregano, lavender and thyme and letting them flower to give food to the bees, or putting out a bowl of fresh water where bees, butterflies and birds can drink from on their long flights. If you are interested in beekeeping, definitely check out this book on Intuitive Beekeeping by Paradise Nectars in Hawaii before you get started.

Grandmother's Tips for Peach Jam:

1. Always wash and sterilize jars for canning.

2. Write up your labels. It is good to put a date on the jar so you know how old it is once it is put into the pantry.

3. Sealed jars should be stable for up to 3 months.

4. Opened refrigerated jars should last at least one month but be sure they are kept refrigerated.

5. If you see any mold on top, throw out.

6. Our batch was more like as sauce, if you want it to be thickened follow the guide on the pectin instructions as per the amount of jam you have in your batch.

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Ingredients

(Print)

Makes: 9-12 half pints

20 peaches (more or less depending on size)

2-4 lemons - enough to make 1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup honey

3 pouches liquid pectin

Directions

1. Wash and sterilize your jars and lids. Tutorial: How to Sterilize Jars for Canning.

2. Place the peaches into a large bowl in the sink. Pour boiling water over the peaches and let them sit for a few minutes until you can see the peel will easily come off.

3. Dump out the water and let the peaches cool so you can handle them.

4. Use a small paring knife to peaches. Quarter the peaches and remove the pit and place all the peaches into a large bowl.

5. Wash the lemons, then cut in half and squeeze out the juice.

6. Transfer the peaches to a deep soup pot and add the lemon juice and the honey.

7. Bring the peaches to boiling and cook 30-45 minutes. The sauce should thicken up.

8. Turn off and blend with an immersion blender.

9. Add liquid pectin. Stir in. Boil hard for one minute. We added 3 pouches liquid pectin all together for this batch. You can add more if you want it to be more solid like a jam. We wanted to keep this a more saucy consistency.

10. While the sauce is still very hot, ladle the peach sauce into the prepared canning jars.

11. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp paper towel then place on the tops and screw on the rings.

12. Place the prepared jars into your canner and be sure the jars are covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. 13. Remove the jars and place them onto a thick towel on the counter-top to cool. You will hear the lids pop when the jar has sealed

Opened refrigerated jars should last at least one month but be sure they are kept refrigerated.

ENJOY!

Return to this Peach Jam recipe or check out more recipes at Grandmother's Kitchen

When the peach season is at its height, this peach jam recipe can help to preserve their sunshine flavour into the winter months. As with most jam recipes, the ingredient list is short but there are some essential steps to take note of.

As mentioned, the canning jars you will be using must be sterilized before filling and sealing. The jars can be placed upside down in your canner filled with boiling water which will ensure the jars are clean before filling with the delicious jam.

Many fruits have natural pectin in them which will help them set into a jam when boiled, but the process of thickening the jam can take a long time and destroy the natural vitamins in the fruit or berry. For this reason, packaged pectin is often added to preserves and jams, which quickens the jam making process and preserves some of the fruit or berry’s nutrition. You can usually find packages of pectin in the produce section of your grocery store or where canning supplies are available in your local department store.

It is ideal that the jars are hot when filling with the prepared jam and placing in the water bath to seal since cold glass can shatter when it hits extreme heat. Near the end of the simmering time for the jam, you can start sterilizing the jars so that the jars and jam are ready at the same time.

Once you have made this jam, it should be used within three months. You can have it on toast or use it as a topping for oatmeal at breakfast, on ice cream or brushed on meat. Sweet peach jam tastes particularly great when blended with some Dijon mustard, garlic, curry powder and cilantro, and brushed onto roasting chicken drumsticks. For sweet lovers, melt some of the jam for a looser consistency, pour on top of a baked cheesecake and refrigerate until set for a glazed top.

Keywords: jam, preserves and jam, canning jars