Directions
- Peach jam is a great way to use up extra peaches that you have around the house that have gotten too ripe to eat. It's hard to find a better combination than honey and cooked peaches!
- I used my hand blender on low speed until all the big chunks were chopped up. It ended up being like a puree but also with some small chunks of peaches. You could use a potato masher, blender or food processor to do the same thing.
- Pour the peaches into a big soup pot. Add the lemon juice and calcium water and stir all the contents of the pot together with a wooden spoon.
- In a separate bowl, add the pectin to the honey (at room temperature). Mix well.
- Bring the contents of the soup pot to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Add the honey-pectin mixture to the peach mixture and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes over heat.
- Bring the peach jam back up to a boil and remove from heat.
- Place a spoonful of the jam on a saucer and place in your freezer for 1-2 minutes.
- Lift the spoon up over the saucer and tip it once the jam on the spoon is slightly chilled to check for jelling.
- Taste the jam to make sure the sweetness is to your liking. I do this every time I make jam because sometimes fruit is different from variety to variety and season to season so it is best to make sure.
- Ladle in the jam all the way up to a 1/4 inch from the top of warmed, sterilized mason jars. Wipe the rim with a cloth to remove any spilled jam and top with 2-piece lids (have these sitting in slow boiling water until you're ready for them).
- If you plan on going through all the jam within 3 weeks, then you can just let it cool for an hour and refrigerate it.
- Otherwise, put the jars in a boiling water canner. Make sure that there is at least 2 inches of water above the top of the jars. Boil them for at least 10 minutes (this depends on your elevation). Remove the jars with jar lifting tongs and let them cool for 24 hours without bumping or letting them touch each other.
- Check the seal by placing your finger in the center of the lid and pushing down. If there is any up and down movement (usually accompanied by a popping noise) then the seal has unfortunately not worked. Put that jar of jam in your fridge and it will stay good for up to 3 weeks. Otherwise, the seal worked and you can keep the jam for up to 12 months.
- Yields about 5 cups.
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