It’s peach jammin’ time! First, make some biscuits, because there’s just about nothing better than fresh, warm jam on a biscuit. There’s always that little bit extra leftover that won’t fit in the last jar and you want to be ready. It’s so disappointing to me if I finish up some jam then look around and realize I don’t have any homemade bread handy. (It’s soooo good on toasted Grandmother Bread, too!!)
Look at all these peaches. Two bucketfuls! That makes a lot of jam. (I made seven half-pints and four full pints, plus I saved aside some for cobbler and pie.) I’ve been jammin’ for days now between the cutting up and the peeling and the canning. By the way, someone emailed me and asked: Why is it called canning when it’s put in glass jars?” From what I can figure out, this is because it was common at one time for the jars used in preserving to be referred to as glass cans. And as factory-preserved products were often prepared in tin cans, this perpetuated the terminology as “home” canning (vs “factory” canning) even after the “glass can” became more widely deemed a jar. Besides, “jarring” doesn’t sound quite right, does it?
I like to call it jammin’. You know, if I’m making jam. If I’m canning something else, I’m….tomatoin’. Or beanin’. Or pepperin’. (Somebody stop me.)
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How to make Peach Jam:
4 cups peeled, cored, chopped peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin
5 cups sugar
*Makes 5-6 half-pints. This same recipe works for pears, too. If you’ve never canned before, check out my How to Can: Hot Water Bath Method!
Prepare your peaches. (You can do this a little ahead of time if you use a produce protector like Fruit Fresh, which you can buy in the canning aisle.) Get your water boiling in your canning pot, rack tucked inside. Boil lids in a small pan then remove to dry on a paper towel using tongs. While water is coming to a boil in your big pot, place chopped peaches in another large pot with the lemon juice. Add pectin and bring to a full, rolling boil. (Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to reduce foaming.) Meanwhile, get your sugar measured and ready. As soon as peaches, lemon juice, and pectin are at the boil, add sugar all at once. Return to boil and keep at the full, rolling boil for one minute. Remove from heat and ladle immediately into clean, sterilized jars. Place lids on top, screw on bands, and lower onto rack in your pot of boiling water. Cover and boil 10 minutes.
Canning looks/sounds like an ordeal, but it’s fun and easy.
Remove jars and place upright on a cutting board or rack to cool and let stand undisturbed for 24 hours. Store in a cool, dry location.
(Pictured: Peach Jam-Glazed Chicken, with salad made from my garden and my biscuits.) Don’t forget to make Biscuits Twists with peach jam! (Yum!) Aside from using jam on biscuits or toast, it’s a perfect ice cream topping, too. But that’s just the beginning. Peach jam, straight from the jar, makes a great glaze for baked chicken or pork. Or add a tablespoon or two of peach jam to hot sauce or barbeque sauce for a different and sweet flavor–again, this is especially delicious with chicken or pork. (And it’s a good way to stretch a sauce if you’re down to the end of a bottle–add some jam.) And then there’s Fruit Dip.
How to make Fruit Dip:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened (regular or non-fat)
1/2 cup peach or other jam
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix cream cheese, jam, and vanilla together in a small bowl. Serve with sliced fruit, such as apples, strawberries, cherries, melon, etc. Store in the fridge. It also makes a great spread for toast or bagels.
See these recipes at Farm Bell Recipes for the handy print pages and save them to your recipe box:
Jam Fruit Dip
Peach Jam
See All My Recipes
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Heidi says:
Can I lick the spoon and bowl???? PLEEEEEAAAASSSSEEE?!?! LOL
On July 20, 2008 at 6:53 am
jessica says:
Yesterday myfriend and I made five batches of raspberry jam. Around jar 36 in a kitchen of 120 degrees we asked the same question, “Why is it called canning we are using JARS?!?
On July 20, 2008 at 8:17 am
Donna says:
First of all, let me say your “cukes” are adorable! How cool to be ROUND!!!!
Ohhh, that jam looks FAB-U-LOUS!!!! YUM and I am HUNGRY! My mother in law makes jam.
Let’s see, other jam ideas:
Well, I love Thumbprint cookies – they look like mini (Hummingbird size) birds nests and you put jam in the center – all the diff. colors of jam look FAB in them!
Or those Lindsor (?) cookies – or is it Lintz cookies? They are two flat shortbread type cookies, with the front showing jam, in a circle and dusted with powdered sugar. YUM
Sounds crazy, but I sometimes put a little jam on my Chinese food, eggroll, because I dont’ have the “sweet sauce” at home. Hot mustard/sweet sauce.
Peanut butter and JAM sandwhiches!! I had a nurse friend that even made a ground beef recipe and she added a JAR of grape jam.
Ohhhh, I worked with a supervisor that made “Jam cake” – they looked sooo expensive and were so good. All she did was make like a yellow layer cake and while warm, frosted it with Jam and it looked so elegant!!! It was a two layer too. I could not believe it was just Jam, it looked so fancy.
I like to eat peanut butter/jam in Ritz crackers.
So, there you go…some ideas…
On July 20, 2008 at 10:52 am
hawkswench says:
Now are you blanching the peaches to remove the skins or actually peeling them?
On July 20, 2008 at 11:06 am
Donna says:
And how about Mountain Gorgonzola cheese (mild blue), with peach jam drizzled all over it…served on crackers. Most do honey..but why not jam? Or any cheese for that matter.
A think layer over the top of a cheesecake! That would be pretty!
I can see a Suzanne McMinn bed and breakfast! LOL Or even just a resteraunt!!!
On July 20, 2008 at 11:14 am
catslady says:
Looks scrumptious and now I’m hungry :wall:
On July 20, 2008 at 11:30 am
Pam Michael says:
Suzanne,
I have a great recipe for Vanilla Bean Peach Jam, you also add a touch of bourbon to it.
If your interested in the recipe, I will email it to you. It is so good. I end up giving so much away as gifts, I hardly have any for my family. Everyone loves it.
Pam
On July 20, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Re blanching and peeling, you can do either, but I peeled them with a knife.
On July 20, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Carolyn A. says:
Have you ever tried jam on a Ritz cracker? I was introduced to it in the market where they have those stands set up to try something that’s on sale. Really good.
I have also heated jam in a pot and used it to glaze a pound cake. Wonderful flavor. xxoo
On July 20, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Susan says:
Yummy! :hungry:
On July 20, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Shari C says:
Sad to say I never have had peach jam, but I do love peaches so I might have to try it.
On July 20, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Teri Dugan says:
I just have one question……how come you can stay so skinny and make all these yummy foods? Your recipes are all so good. I have made a few and they are to die for. From one food lover to another….what is your secret?? Please share. And don’t say you are not skinny, because I have seen the pics that you post and you are!
From a not so skinny reader/blogger in the Idaho Rockies….
Teri
On July 20, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Estella says:
I love peach jam! Have not made any in a number of years.
On July 20, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
You all have great ideas! Thank you for sharing!!
Teri, well, =I= don’t think I’m skinny! But I will say that I don’t cook all this food just for me because I have a houseful including two teenage boys. Sometimes a whole loaf of bread disappears no sooner than I take it out of the oven! I do love to bake, but I don’t make desserts every day. I do have homemade bread every day, but I’m most likely to be eating bread with vegetables than anything else. I don’t eat a lot of junk food. (Mostly this is because I can’t get to what junk food I buy fast enough–the kids make off with it!) I don’t keep candy around on a normal basis, either. (Not unless it’s homemade candy.) I really think there’s something to eating primarily a whole foods diet, meaning a lot of fresh food, homemade. I don’t eat very much processed packaged food. I also don’t drink sodas. I drink a lot of water. I love water. That said, I need to lose ten pounds right now!
On July 20, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Melissa's Cozy Teacup says:
Those are some gigantic cucumbers!
On July 20, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Brandy says:
Homemade beats store-bought any day. I’ve never tried making my own jam, but maybe one day I’ll get up the nerve!
On July 20, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Donna Mc says:
Wahoo – your bucket of peaches looks just like ours! Our peach tree is overwhelmed with fruit. We put up 26 jars of jelly yesterday, and still have peaches coming out the whaazooo.
And figs will be ripe soon. I guess we’ll be giving lots of good jammin’ stuff for Christmas this year.
On July 21, 2008 at 8:04 am
Kathy R says:
All you have to do is mention canning peaches and my mind conjures up that smell — that peach smell that permeates the house, and drives eveyone crazy waiting to dip in. Must can peaches. Haven’t got any peach trees. I see a potential problems there. Must plant peach trees next spring. Wait two years. Problem solved.
On July 21, 2008 at 9:44 am
Crystal B. says:
Looks delicious. I need to attempt making jam. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
On July 21, 2008 at 10:23 am
Shimmy Mom says:
I’m drooling. That looks and sounds so yummy!
On July 21, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Cheri says:
I’ve tried peach jam before using a recipe almost exactly as yours. The peaches separated from the juice with each jar having 2/3 juice and 1/3 peach chunks. I chopped the peaches into small chunks. Am I suppose to mash the peaches? Any ideas on what went wrong? Thanks for your help.
On August 6, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Hi, Cheri! I don’t mash the peaches. It sounds like a problem with how it set up, so I think that might mean one of the boil stages didn’t go quite right (maybe not enough boil time), but that’s just a guess. I just know it’s not necessary to mash them! I hope you have better luck next time!
On August 6, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Janet says:
I came across your peach jam recipe and I’m going to try it. The chicken w/peach jam glaze looks really scrumptious!! 🙂
On August 29, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Sheila says:
I think I’m gonna try this 🙂 , I’ve made strawberry jelly and blueberry jelly before so this would be something different to try with my homemade peanut butter and grandmother bread :hungry: .
On November 15, 2010 at 10:00 pm