Gluten Free & God Seeking: How to Make & Can Your Own Peach Jam

Friday, August 19, 2016

How to Make & Can Your Own Peach Jam

There's something special about homemade jam. It reminds me of watching my grandmother making jam and canning fruits and vegetables on a hot summer day. It's about connection. It's about sharing my country heritage with my children and young grandchildren. This summer I wanted to make peach jam again. I like using Sure Jell's Low Sugar recipe because I like to be able to taste the fruit more than the sugar!

If you've never made your own jam, I hope this recipe motivates you to start a new summer tradition!

Making Low Sugar Peach Jam & Canning Peach Jam

1. Get the water bath canner ready: Fill your water bath canner with enough water to cover the jars and bring it to a boil. This takes about 30-40 minutes.

2. Prepare fruit:
Rinse and then finely chop 4 1/2 cups of peaches.

3. Prepare jars:
(1) Wash the canning jars you will need in hot sudsy water.
(2) After they’ve been rinsed, fill them with hot water until they’re needed. This will keep the jars from breaking when they’re filled with the hot jam.

4. Into the saucepan add:
(1) The chopped peaches.
(2) Stir into the peaches 1 2 T of fresh lemon juice.

(3) In a small bowl stir 1/4 cup of sugar into 1 package of Ball No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin. Then slowly add it and whisk to remove lumps.
(4) Add 1 t of butter to reduce foaming.
(5) Bring this mixture to a full rolling boil (one that cannot be stirred down) over medium high heat. Stir the jam constantly so it doesn't scorch!

(6) If you want to add sugar: You don’t have to add any sugar to this kind of jam to get it to set, but the instructions say the lack of sugar will affect the appearance and the taste will be a bit tart. Taste the jam to see how much sugar you want to add—this can be from nothing up to 3 cups. I usually add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar.
(7) If you add sugar, let the jam come back to a boil for one minute stirring constantly so it doesn't scorch. I usually turn on my timer for this. Remove any foam on the top and remove from heat and get ready to fill the jars.

5. Meanwhile Prepare lids:
(1) Pour about 1-2 cups of boiling water into a pan that's not on a burner. Let stand in water until ready to use.

6. Ladle the jam into the jars:
(1) Empty the jars as you need them of their hot water, and then ladle into the jar using a funnel leaving about ¼” space.
(2) Wipe the rim and threads clean with a damp cloth because if you leave something on the lid, it might prevent a good seal from forming.

7. Put on the lid and screw on the band: Put the lid on the jar and hold it steady with your fingertip while you screw on the band until it’s what they call fingertip tight (which means don’t overdo it!). I am using the picture from when I made applesauce.

8. Finish the rest of the jars: Go through steps 6 & 7 until all the jam is gone.

9. Process in the canner: When the water is boiling in the canner, put the jars in one by one with the jar lifter. Make sure they don’t touch each other on the rack. Add more hot water if it doesn’t cover the top of the jars. Put the lid on the canner and process for 10 minutes—you count the time when it comes to a full rolling boil. Follow altitude directions on your pectin package. Let jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing.

10. Remove jars: Use the lifter to remove each jar and sit them on a flat surface to cool. Do not touch the jars or the bands for 12-24 hours! If you do, you may break the seal.

11. Test seals:
(1) A good seal: The next day you can check the seals by pressing the center of each lid. If the lid doesn’t flex up and down, it’s sealed.
(2) A bad seal: If a jar didn’t seal, you can put the jam in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or you can reprocess it with a new lid for 10 minutes.

12. Clean jars & remove bands: Wipe down the jars and remove the bands. Store the jam in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Homemade Jam makes a nice gift!