Easy Low Sugar Peach Jam Without Pectin (Can or Freeze)
Please enjoy our low sugar peach jam - made with lemon juice, not pectin. It's bright, fresh, and absolutely delicious. Even better, it only requires three ingredients, and a very short cooking and processing time - great for canning or freezing!
Servings: 8 half-pint jars
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Large non-reactive pot
- Canning pot (water bath)
- Sterilized canning jars and lids
- Jar lifter, canning funnel, etc
- OR freezer-safe storage containers
- Immersion blender (or blender)
- Optional: potato masher
Ingredients
- 4 pounds fresh ripe yellow peaches (peeled and pitted)
- 2 cups organic cane sugar
- 1/4 cup organic bottled lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash, peel, pit and chop the peaches into small peices. (It may be necessary to quickly blanch the peaches to make peeling easier - see instructions in body of post).
- In a large mixing bowl, weigh the prepped peaches and then mix in sugar.
- If you have a potato masher, use it to crush the peaches further.
- Allow the fruit and sugar to sit (macerate) for several hours or overnight. Move to fridge if overnight.
- Prepare and sanitize all necessary canning equipment.
- Combine macerated fruit with lemon juice in a large non-reactive pot.
- Bring to a boil for several minutes, then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove from heat.
- Recommended: blend a portion of the jam to increase thickness. We like to keep it fairly chunky still though!
- Transfer hot jam into hot sterilized canning jars. Fill to 1/4" head room in jar. Wipe rims and add lids (rings finger tight only).
- Process in boiling water canner per provided chart above for your elevation (e.g. 5 minutes for 0-1000 feet, 10 minutes for 1001-6000 feet - for pints or half pints)
- Store sealed jars in a cool dark location (e.g. pantry or cellar) and use within one year for best quality. Once open, store unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use within one to two months.
Notes
Freezing instructions: Once the jam has finished cooking, allow it to cool slightly and then transfer it into clean jars *wide mouth* pint or half-pint jars, or other freezer-safe food storage containers. Leave at least a half-inch to an inch of head space. (Look for the "fill line" on glass jars.) Allow the jam to fully cool before freezing. For best results, rapidly cool the jars of jam in the refrigerator and then transfer them to the freezer once they're cold. Use within 6 months for best quality.