Local peaches from the Sandhills of NC
The past few weeks, we've been enjoying these delicious peaches from the farmer's market. Of course, I couldn't let this seasonal summer treat pass without making a little bit of jam!
Traditional Peach Jam
Recipe from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
4 cups finely chopped, pitted and peeled peaches {I pulsed the fruit in my Vitamix being careful not to puree}
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin {I always use 1 full package and half of another}
5 cups sugar
1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.
2, In a large, stainless steel saucepan, combine peaches and lemon juice. Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat and skim off the foam.
4. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles using a nonmetallic utensil. Wipe the jar rim and center the lid on the jar. Screw band on jar until fingertip-tight.
5. Place jars in canner and process for 10 minutes.
Mary Ellen
Do you process your jam, as step 5 says? Why is this step necessary, do you know? I did jam yesterday. My first batch didn't set up. It's really liquid-y and all the fruit is separated from the liquid. I drained the juice from the second batch before boiling and adding pectin. Do you think my second batch worked better because I drained the juice? I also think I heated the mixture longer in batch 2, so maybe it was the duration of heat on batch 1 that was the issue. Sorry for the numerous questions. I'm a beginner canner but also a bit of a perfectionist, so I'm trying to get it right :)
ReplyDeleteHi, there! Yes, I do process my jars using the water bath canning method. I store my jams and jellies in my pantry, so the processing is needed to seal the jars and kill any bacteria. If you plan on storing your jam in the refrigerator for immediate use, processing is not needed.
DeleteIt does sound as if draining the juice helped with your second batch. When preparing my peaches, I pulse the chopped peaches in my Vitamix to a consistency similar to chunky applesauce. It's kind of thick, but not very juicy.
Hope that helps! Happy canning!
Mary Ellen
The Working Home Keeper
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