An Easy Recipe for Water Bath Canning Peach Jam
Water bath canning peach jam is quick and easy! Video & step-by-step tutorial plus my old-fashioned no-pectin peach jam recipe.
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We went peach picking the other day and I made the (maybe) mistake? of giving each child a gigantic harvest bag. And boy did they get to work! I spent over $100 on peaches, which made me long for the day that our peach trees begin bearing fruit. And it also reminded me that planting fruit trees was a worthwhile investment.
Since then, we’ve been making peach everything. I made a delicious sourdough discard peach coffee cake, which is featured in the video above. We’ve had peach parfaits, peach oatmeal, everything peach. But my biggest pech project was this jam. I love having pantry shelves lined with jams and jellies that we can crack into over the winter months when the tastes of summer seem so far away.
If you’ve been intimidated by canning, water bath canning is a great place to start. You don’t need any special tools. All you need is a deep stock pot that’s big enough to submerge jars with water for boiling. A jar lifter is handy too but you can use tongs if you don’t have one.
How to Water Bath Can Peach Jam
- fresh peaches
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar per pound of peaches
- 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice per pound of peaches
Peach Jam
- Wash the peaches and then slice and remove the pits. I leave the skins on. Peaches can be sliced only if you plan on using an immersion blender after simmering the jam or sliced and then chopped into small pieces if you want a thick jam and do not plan on blending after simmering.
- Add the sliced peaches to a large bowl or stock pot, then add 1/2 cup of sugar per pound of peaches. 3-4 medium peaches usually equal 1lb. I do not weigh my peaches, I just count them and then do a little math in
- Stir the peaches and sugar together, cover, and refrigerate for 12-24 hours if possible. 1-2 hours will do if you are short on time. This gives the sugar time to break down and soften the peaches, readying them for simmering.
- Remove peaches from the fridge, stir in lemon juice, and simmer low and slow until you reach the desired consistency. Be patient. It may take 15-20 minutes per pound of peaches.
- Optional: If you want a smooth consistency, blend jam with an immersion blender when it starts to thicken. If you want preserves, skip this step
- Once the jam sticks to a spoon or a plate, it’s ready.
- Remove from heat, ladle into jars and serve immediately or store in the fridge unless you plan on canning.
Water Bath Canning Peach Jam
Water bath canning is used for high acid foods like jams, jellies, and pickled produce. Use a water bath canner or a large, deep stock pot that allows plenty of room for jars to be submerged.
- Fill water bath canner at least half full of water and heat to 180F with jars inside. Pre-heating jars is a must to prevent them from “shocking” (changing temp too quickly and busting). I use half-pint or pint jars when canning jam. It is not necessary to pre-heat lids and rings.
- Use a jar lifter to remove pre-heated jars from the canner
- Use a funnel and ladle jam into each jar leaving 1/4 inch headspace (space between jam and top of the jar)
- Wipe the rim and threads of each jar clean with a damp cloth top to remove any residue that would prevent a proper seal.
- Center the lids on each jar and apply bands to fingertip tight.
- Use the jar lifter to lower each jar into the water bath canner. Jars should be submerged before placing the lid on the canner.
- Place the lid on the canner and bring the water to a rolling boil. Begin processing time. Process 5 minutes for half-pints and 10 minutes for pints.
- Remove each jar with the jar lifter and place on a towel to cool for 12 hours or overnight. Do not disturb jars while cooling.
- Once cooled, remove the rings and inspect each jar for proper seal. If you note any seal failures, refrigerate immediately and use soon.
- Clean, label, and store sealed jars in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 18 months or longer.
Water Bath Canning Peach Jam with Recipe
tutorial for water bath canning peach jam with my simple 3 ingredient formula that can be adapted to use with any amount of peaches
Ingredients
- fresh peaches
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar per pound pf peaches
- 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice per pound of peaches
Instructions
Peach Jam
- Wash the peaches and then slice and remove the pits. I leave the skins on. Peaches can be sliced only if you plan on using an immersion blender after simmering the jam or sliced and then chopped into small pieces if you want a thick jam and do not plan on blending after simmering.
- Add the sliced peaches to a large bowl or stock pot, then add 1/2 cup of sugar per pound of peaches. 3-4 medium peaches usually equal 1lb. I do not weigh my peaches, I just count them and then do a little math in my head using the formula above to figure out how much sugar and lemon juice I will need.
- Stir the peaches and sugar together, cover, and refrigerate for 12-24 hours if possible. 1-2 hours will do if you are short on time. This gives the sugar time to break down and soften the peaches, readying them for simmering.
- Remove peaches from the fridge, stir in lemon juice, and simmer low and slow until you reach the desired consistency. Be patient. It may take 15-20 minutes per pound of peaches.
- Optional: If you want a smooth consistency, blend jam with an immersion blender when it starts to thicken. If you want preserves, skip this step.
- Once the jam sticks to a spoon or a plate, it's ready.
- Remove from heat, ladle into jars and serve immediately or store in the fridge unless you plan on canning.
Water Bath Canning Peach Jam
Water bath canning is used for high acid foods like jams, jellies, and pickled produce. Use a water bath canner or a large, deep stock pot that allows plenty of room for jars to be submerged.
- Fill water bath canner at least half full of water and heat to 180F with jars inside. Pre-heating jars is a must to prevent them from "shocking" (changing temp too quickly and busting). I use half-pint or pint jars when canning jam. It is not necessary to pre-heat lids and rings.
- Use a jar lifter to remove pre-heated jars from the water bath canner and set them on a towel on the counter. The towel prevents shock since the counter is a cool surface.
- Use a funnel and ladle jam into each jar leaving 1/4 inch headspace (space between jam and top of the jar)
- Wipe the rim and threads of each jar clean with a damp cloth top to remove any residue that would prevent a proper seal.
- Center the lids on each jar and apply bands to fingertip tight.
- Use the jar lifter to lower each jar into the water bath canner. Jars should be submerged before placing the lid on the canner.
- Place the lid on the canner and bring the water to a rolling boil. Begin processing time. Process 5 minutes for half-pints and 10 minutes for pints.
- Remove each jar with the jar lifter and place on a towel to cool for 12 hours or overnight. Do not disturb jars while cooling.
- Once cooled, remove the rings and inspect each jar for proper seal. If you note any seal failures, refrigerate immediately
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