Peaches Peaches Peaches

I love peaches.   I like their fuzzy skin, the big ole pit, their funny shape and the sweetness in the meat. I have a friend in Georgia who managed to get a box of peaches delivered to my front door (when I had the Covid 😒).  They were beautiful and delicious and there were A LOT!  I didn’t want them to go to waste so I started researching how to make peach jam.  And voila! a quick, easy and delicious recipe was found.  It wasn’t the typical jam process where you hot process the jars, but this is called freezer jam that can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks or in the freezer up to a year. And it’s quick and easy!  So I washed up a bunch of jars and lids.   First I blanched the peaches (cut an X across the top to make an easy to peel option), and then peeled and pitted them. I put them in the dutch oven with sugar and lemon juice and started mashing them.  Brought the pot to a boil for a few minutes then ladled them into the jars!  I filled a few regular jam jars and more mini jars since the jam isn’t shelf stable and needs to be eaten within a couple weeks.   OMG it’s delicious!!

Here’s the recipe I used from thebusybaker.ca    This is for one jar but I had lots more peaches and adjusted this basic recipe accordingly.

Easy Peach Freezer Jam

Ingredients

• 8 ripe peaches
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

• Add the peaches to a deep pot along with the sugar and lemon juice.
• Stir to combine and turn the heat to high, stirring every now and then until the mixture starts to bubble and become hot.
• Use a potato masher to mash the peaches until they begin to fall apart.
• When the mixture begins to boil, continue to stir every 30 seconds or so.
• Use an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature of the jam as it boils.  Be sure the thermometer is measuring at the middle of the jam and not touching the bottom.
• Continue boiling as the temperature climbs and don’t let it stop boiling until it reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit (for low altitudes) or 218 degrees Fahrenheit (for high altitudes).  This should take about 8 minutes or so.   It took longer for my batch since it was quite a bit larger.
• Once the correct temperature is reached, remove the pot from the heat and carefully spoon the jam into a standard mason jar.  The jam might seem a little bit liquid at this stage - don’t worry!  It will thicken as it cools.
• Add the lids to the jars and allow to cook at room temperature until completely cool.
• Store in the fridge and enjoy!

Notes

• Use the proper water-bath canning process to create a shelf stable version of this recipe, if desired.  The recipe, as it is, is a refrigerator or freezer jam.
• The recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of jam (to fill a large standard mason jar).
• Store this jam in the fridge for up to 2weeks, and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Please visit  thebusybaker.ca for additional notes and nutritional info.