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Peach jam is one of the best preserves of the summer. It’s easy to make this classic peach preserve as either a freezer jam or canning recipe.
Every summer we pick up a case (or three) of Amish peaches and spend the day canning peaches to bring a bit of brightness into our long winter days.
Our local food coop gets a few truckloads shipped up from Pennsylvania each year, and all the home canners descend on them quickly. This year, I came late in the day and missed out…but I found something even better…
Incredibly fresh local Vermont peaches!
Northern peaches are a bit of a unicorn, difficult to find, and sometimes impossible to grow, but the flavor is amazing. There are a number of zone 4 peach varieties, but no one’s really tried to grow them commercially until recently.
They were so fresh they still had leaves attached!
When you stumble into fresh tree-ripened local peaches, it’s time to make something really special…
Peach Jam!
Choosing Peaches for Peach Jam
When selecting peaches for jam, you’ll often have a few choices. Freestone or clingstone, and yellow or white. Believe it or not, it does matter.
Freestone or Clingstone
Most grocery store peaches are the bright yellow freestone peaches, full of juice and easy to separate from the pit.
Backyard growers have access to clingstone peaches, which as the name suggests, clings to the pit. These can only really be separated by cutting the flesh off with a knife, and it’s a messy proposition.
Clingstone peaches are often intensely sweet and flavorful, so they’re worth the extra effort. They aren’t great for canning peach halves, since they don’t pit cleanly, but they’re perfect for making peach jam where the fruit is cooked down anyway.
(They also make an excellent peach wine…)
For simplicity’s sake, freestone is a lot easier to work with, and I’d choose those given the option. Both make an excellent peach jam though.
Yellow or White Peaches
Believe it or not, the color of the peaches actually matters for canning. If you hope to water bath can peach jam (instead of making refrigerator jam), choose yellow peaches.
White peaches are less acidic than yellow peaches, and may not be quite acidic enough for safe canning. They’re also less flavorful in general when cooked since they tend to be mild and sweet.
This peach jam recipe uses added lemon juice for flavor, which may actually make it acidic enough for canning white peaches…but I wouldn’t count on it.
Stick with yellow peaches when canning peach jam, and use white peaches for freezer jams.
How to Make Peach Jam
Making peach jam starts with peeling the peaches.
If I’m making a big batch, as I do when I’m canning peach pie filling, I’ll dip each peach into boiling water for about a minute before plunging them into an ice-water bath. This flash cooks the outside, and you can slip the peach skin off with your fingers.
This small-batch peach jam recipe only requires 4 cups chopped peaches, which is only 6 to 8 large peaches. On this scale, I think it’s easier to just peel them quickly with a sharp paring knife.
Take your pick, either method is perfectly fine.
Once peeled, chop the peaches into 1/2 inch to 1-inch pieces.
Peaches tend to brown quickly once cut, and if you want a stunning orange color to your peach jam you’ll need to treat the cut fruit with lemon juice. This peach jam recipe includes 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and I’ll add it to the bowl of chopped peaches now to ensure good color in the finished peach jam.
Place the peaches and lemon juice into a jam pot, and stir in a packet of pectin. I’m using Sure-Jell pectin because it’s really readily available at just about any grocery store. You can also use other brands, such as Ball Pectin.
Don’t use liquid pectin, as it requires a lot more sugar to gel properly. Stick with powdered pectin if you can.
(If liquid pectin is all you have, add a full 7 cups of sugar to 4 cups of fruit. It’s going to be unbelievably sweet, but liquid pectin won’t gel at lower sugar levels.)
Bring the fruit, lemon juice and pectin to a boil on the stove (but don’t add sugar yet). Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes, mashing the peaches to break them up a bit (or leaving them big for a chunky peach jam).
After a few minutes, add the sugar and stir until fully incorporated. Bring the mixture back to a hard boil for 1 minute, and then remove from heat.
Ladle the peach jam into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace and seal with 2-part lids. A canning funnel with headspace measurements really helps keep this process clean (and ensures a good headspace measurement).
Peach Jam without Pectin
This peach jam recipe has added pectin, and I’d strongly recommend using commercial pectin when working with peaches. That said, sometimes it’s nice to have other options.
Normally I’m all about making jam without adding commercial pectin. I’ll stretch any little bit of natural pectin within the fruit by adding lemon juice or adding a removable sachet of high pectin citrus seeds to the jam pot. The problem is, peaches have almost no natural pectin, and it’s really difficult (if not impossible) to get a firm setting peach jam unless you add commercial pectin.
Pectin helps the natural fiber in the tissues of the fruit that helps them retain their structure. Bite into a fully ripe peach and you’ll see it fall apart as the juice runs down your chin.
Toss fresh sliced peaches in sugar and they’ll basically liquify. That’s actually how I “juice” them when I’m making homemade peach wine.
I’d strongly suggest using commercial pectin when you’re making peach jam.
If you’re dead set against using pectin (or just don’t have any on hand), try making peach marmalade (with plenty of high pectin citrus) or slow cooker peach butter instead. In marmalade, the citrus fruit and peel is a natural pectin source. With fruit butters, an extended (sometimes multi-day) slow cook naturally thickens the fruit into a smooth spread.
You can also make peach preserves, which aren’t quite the same as peach jam, but close. Peaches and sugar are cooked together for a few hours until the syrup thickens. It’s like a very loose jam, with a sugar-rich peach syrup surrounding chunks of peach flesh. It won’t gel like a jam, since there’s no pectin, but it’s still tasty on toast.
Low Sugar Peach Jam Options
Just because peach jam needs added pectin to set doesn’t mean you’re stuck with a conventional high-sugar recipe.
I’ve written this peach jam recipe as a classic old-fashioned peach jam made with standard Sure-Jell pectin. The recipe card inside the box suggests adding 5 1/2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of chopped peaches. The National Center for Food Preservation suggests slightly less and adds 5 cups of sugar.
If you’re using a standard pectin instead of a low sugar pectin variety, you’ll need to add at least 50% sugar for the pectin to activate. When I make dandelion jelly, for example, there’s no natural pectin in the flowers (since they’re not fruit). I add 4 cups of sugar to 4 cups of dandelion blossom tea and it gels beautifully.
There is a tiny bit of wiggle room even with regular pectin, and you can use as little as 4 cups of sugar to 4 cups of fruit with Sure-Jell pectin. Don’t go below 50% by volume.
If you’d like to use less sugar, I’d suggest switching to a low-sugar pectin such as Pomona’s universal pectin. You can even make a no sugar peach jam with it, or substitute honey or alternative sweeteners.
I happen to have a low-sugar peach jam recipe using Pomona’s pectin as well. (It’ll work with honey and other natural sweeteners too!)
Creative Peach Jam Variations
Peach jam is a simple old-fashioned classic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spice it up and make it your own. Add in vanilla or cinnamon for a warm flavor, or switch out some/all of the sugar for brown sugar or honey.
Here are a few options that work especially well in homemade peach jam:
- Peach Jam with Vanilla Bean ~ Simply adding the scraped beans from a vanilla pod to the pot transforms this classic peach jam.
- Peach Jalapeno Jam ~ Peaches actually go really well with a bit of spice, and adding hot peppers to peach jam is a common variation. I honestly can’t say if it’s safe for canning, as the peppers themselves are a low acid vegetable.
- Peach Cobbler Jam ~ This variation comes from the Ball Blue Book of Canning, and they suggest substituting some brown sugar for white and adding a bit of cinnamon and almond extract.
If this spiced peach jam sounds good, I bet you’ll love my recipe for canning peach pie filling, which has just a bit of cinnamon and almond extract. It’s perfect for filling a last-minute pie right out of the canning jar.
Canning Peach Jam
It’s totally fine to make this peach jam as a refrigerator or freezer jam. Simply fill the jars, allow them to cool and store. They should last a few weeks in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.
That said, if you want a shelf-stable preserve that you can enjoy year-round, try canning peach jam.
Simply prepare a water bath canner before you begin making the jam. Once it’s ladled into canning jars, leave 1/4 inch headspace and seal with 2-part canning lids.
Place the jars in the water bath canner and process for 10 minutes (for pints and half pints) before removing them to cool on a towel on the counter.
(Be sure to adjust for altitude. If you’re over 1000 feet, add 1 minute to the processing time for every 1000 feet in elevation gain.)
Classic Peach Jam
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups peaches, chopped (From 3 lbs whole peaches)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 box, 1.75 oz Powdered Pectin (Sure Jell)
- 5 cups sugar
Instructions
- Peel and chop peaches.
- Toss chopped peaches in lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Place the peaches and lemon juice in a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- Add the pectin (but not the sugar) and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook 2-3 minutes, mashing the peaches for a smoother preserve or leaving them whole for a chunky peach jam.
- Add the sugar and stir to incorporate. Return the pot to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring to distribute heat.
- Turn off the heat and ladle the finished peach jam into jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Cap with 2 part lids.
- Store in the refrigerator for immediate use, or freeze for up to 6 months, or water bath can for longer storage.
- Canning Peach Jam (Optional): If canning, process jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes if below 1000 feet in elevation (adjust for altitude by adding 1 minute for every 1000 feet in elevation rise). Remove jars to cool on a towel on the counter and check seals after 24 hours. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use.
- Properly canned peach jam should maintain quality on the pantry shelf for 12-18 months.
Notes
Preserving Peaches
Still need more ways to preserve peaches this summer?
- Freezing Peaches
- Canning Peaches
- Drying Peaches
- Canning Peach Pie Filling
- Peach Fruit Leather
- Peach Wine
Summer Canning Recipes
Canning up more than peaches this summer? Here are a few more canning recipes to keep you busy!
Can you use Splenda or Stevia?. I am a Diabetic I want to make it Diabetic friendly? Thank you!
You can use Stevia that measures like sugar in your jam recipes. I would recommend using a low or no sugar pectin like Pomona’s Pectin when using alternative sweeteners.
Hey I’m really wanting to try the peach cobbler jam variation and I can’t find the exact recipe anywhere. Would you care to list the recipe??
That recipe is actually in the Ball Book of Canning. We can’t reprint those recipes here due to copyright law.
Can you use peaches you’ve frozen?
Yes you can.
I made a batch today but it did not set up. This is my first time trying peach anything. It looks more like peach syrup lol. May try it again later.
Mine did not either only difference I did was I had 8 cups of peaches….nit sure if that was the problem or not?
It’s not generally recommended to double recipes for jams. Increasing the volume does affect the way that the jam cooks down and will affect the gel.
Chose to use this recipe this year in place of the peach preserves recipe that I’ve use for years. The only difference is the amount of lemon juice added is double the amount from my previous recipe. I absolutely love the extra twang! This will be my new go-to!
That’s awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I highly recommend cutting this recipe with only 4 cups of sugar. In the written instructions/info she says that you can cut the sugar down to 4 cups and get the required ratio of sweetness in order for the pectin to set. I have an extreme sweet tooth and one taste and it was too much. I added more peaches and a little more lemon juice to compensate.
Is it possible to use frozen fruit?
Yup, this recipe works just fine with frozen fruit because it has added pectin. Defrost the fruit and then go ahead with the recipe as written. (Pectin is reduced in the fruit when it’s frozen, so using frozen fruit doesn’t work all that well in no-pectin recipes.)
Can I add 2 hoberno peppers to this recipe without effected it beside adding a little kick.
Adding non-acidic foods to a jam recipe can change the pH of the recipe. It’s important to know that the pH level is correct in order to be sure that the jam can be safely water bath canned. If you are wanting to incorporate peppers, you may want to search and see if you can find a tested recipe.
Approx how much does this recipe make?
This recipe will make 5 to 6 half-pint jars.
I made this low sugar peach jam/preserves recipe and it turned out delicious! I did lower the sugar down zo 2 cups, and only used a potato masher to crush the fruit. I also used the low sugar Sure Jell for the pectin. My family loved the fresh peach flavor, and these will make great Christmas gifts! I wish I could post a photo. Recipeakes approximately 52 oz.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
You’re very welcome. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Hi, I’m from Canada and I can not find Sure Gel in grocery stores. Does it work to use powdered pectin from Certo?
Yes, you can use any kind of powdered pectin.
Very informative
Thank you. We’re glad you enjoyed it.
BEST PEACH JAM I HAVE EVER HAD! I went to a local farm this weekend and picked a bunch of fresh Florida Cling peaches. They ripened so quickly that I wasn’t sure what to do with them. So I found your recipe and decided to give it a go. I have never made preserves or jams before. Your recipe made it so easy to follow and not make any mistakes. I got carried away with my peaches and forgot to measure out how much I actually had cut up but it still turned out perfect. I ended up putting mine into a blender and pulsing it as I wanted more of a jam rather than preserves. I will be making this again and again
That’s so great to hear. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Made this recently using 4 cups of coconut sugar and Pomona’s pectin and it turned out just fine, in case anyone else is trying to do the same. I added a little bit more peaches, but otherwise I used the amounts and ingredients just as listed here.
Glad it worked for you!
Can you use a commercial low sugar pectin like the pink box Sure Jell? I have some of that laying around that I need to use but not sure what ratio sugar I should use (if I can). I made your peach pie filling last year and loved it so I’m excited about this! Also- have you ever had luck doubling or would you do two single batches?
You definitely don’t want to double a jam recipe. Doubling will affect how it cooks down. You can use a low-sugar pectin. It’s really up to you how much sugar you want to use. The lower the sugar amount, the lower the yield on the recipe.
Everything seemed to work as it should. I canned the Jam and the lids sealed. It looked beautiful! However, apparently the sugar did not dissolve enough. It is very grainy. Any idea why?
This happens if the sugar doesn’t dissolve completely or if you scrape down the pan once the heat is turned off.
Can you use coconut sugar to make jam?
I am trying to avoid refined white sugar.
Thank you,
Yes, you can. You may want to research some tested recipes though. I’m not sure if you can use the same ratios in this recipe.
As long as you don’t change the amount of lemon juice in the recipie you are free do do as you like with the sugar. Although the amount and type of sugar you use will impact how the final product sets up (stiff or loose). The more sugar you use the more it will set up so if you use low sugar or no sugar then you need to use a low or no sugar Pectin (I like Pamona’s). If I were making this with Cocnut Sugar I would use Pamona’s pectin and then add sugar according to my taste buds. Also if you ever have jelly that doesn’t set up you can always glaze hot wing with it : )
If your jam does seem to set, do you just let it cook longer, add sugar?
You can cook it a bit longer but I wouldn’t add any more sugar than what is already in the recipe. You can check the temperature of the jam. You want it to be right at 220 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also do a spoon test by dipping a chilled spoon from the freezer into the jam pot. Tip the spoon and let the jam run off. If it runs off in a sheet rather than dripping off like a liquid then you know it’s ready. You also want to be sure to follow the order and instructions exactly as they are written.
Great recipe. Have you tried the steam canners. I have been working with it for a few years now.. So much better for canning.
This is something I have definitely been wanting to try but haven’t had the opportunity yet.
I haven’t made jam in years and was a bit nervous
to give it a try. This recipe was so easy, my fresh peaches were so flavorful and the color was vibrant. I’m glad I gave it a try.
Awesome
this recipe is delicious – i added a bit more peaches as i don’t think there is never ‘to much’. my only concern is that the peaches separated from the jam part, peaches stayed at the top of the jar 🙁
One way to help with that is to allow the jam to cool ever so slightly before scooping it into the jars. It’ll start to set a bit and help hold everything in place.
Mine separated as well.😭
Oh no, I’m so sorry. You should still be able to stir it back together when you open it.
As the jam cools you can gentle swirl the peach bits to more evenly distribute them. ☺️
Mine did too 😔
Once again an excellent article and another piece of information I CANNOT believe I have not discovered in any other jam-making blog (not that I’ve read them all). I always knew pectin helped set up jam, and I haven’t used it in years as we grow mostly berries and they don’t need pectin especially when including a few on the less than ripe side. However, until I read this article I never knew what is ‘was’ although I suppose it should have been obvious…it holds fruit together which is why apples have a lot and ripe peaches have very little.