When fresh peaches are at their prime, you can preserve their sweet, nectared essence by making a batch of easy peach preserves.
I love opening a jar of peach jam on a snowy winter morning, slathering it on a hot, buttery biscuit and being transported back to sweet memories of the previous summer. It’s also wonderful stirred into a bowl of Greek yogurt.
Jars of homemade peach preserves are perfect for holiday gift giving. (We love to give away homemade canned apple butter, too.)
I used to make jam the old-fashioned way, standing at the stove for hours boiling and stirring the mixture and trying to keep it from scorching. Recently I made a batch with packaged pectin, and I think the jam tastes better and retains more of the true peach flavor.
You don’t need to use as much sugar, either. The cooking process is also much faster and easier than making traditional jam.
Ingredients Notes
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
4 cups peeled, chopped organic peaches (about 3 pounds of fruit). See our tip for easy peeling below.
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice – fresh has the best flavor, but you can use bottled lemon juice in a pinch
1 package powdered pectin like Kraft Sure-Jell
1/4 teaspoon butter – This tiny amount of butter will prevent the jam from foaming when it cooks. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
5 1/2 cups sugar – I use organic cane sugar, and regular granulated sugar will work fine, too.
Getting Jars Ready for Canning
Before you start making the preserves, prepare the canner and sanitize the jars. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has detailed directions for how to do this.
Preparing the Peaches for Jam
To peel the peaches, cut an “X” in the bottom end of each peach and drop it in a pan of boiling water for about 30 seconds.
Remove with a slotted spoon, cool briefly, and the peel should rub right off. If not, return to the water for another 30 seconds. For this recipe, finely chop or mash the peaches and measure 4 cups of fruit.
High Altitude Adjustment
Also, if you’re at an altitude of 1,000 feet or higher, you’ll need to cook the mixture a little longer. Here’s a handy canning altitude adjustment chart from Ball.
There is something deeply satisfying about ‘putting up preserves.’ Try the recipe and see if you don’t agree!
If you enjoy this easy peach jam recipe, click on the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below to leave a rating! It helps us so much, and we love reading your comments, too!
Printable Recipe
Homemade Peach Preserves
Equipment
- Boiling water canner with a lid and removable rack
- 7 half pint canning jars with lids and screw bands sterilized
Ingredients
- 4 cups peeled, chopped organic peaches (about 3 pounds of fruit)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 package powdered pectin like Kraft Sure-Jell
- 1/4 teaspoon butter
- 5 1/2 cups sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the canner and sanitize the jars, lids and screw bands.
- Stir the fruit and lemon juice together and pour into a large, heavy bottomed sauce pot.
- Stir in the pectin, and add the butter. Turn the burner to high heat and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and stir it constantly to dissolve. Return the mixture to a full boil and boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat, and skim off any foam that has risen to the surface.
- Ladle the jam into the prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean damp cloth. Cover with the two-piece lids and screw the bands on tightly.
- Process according to your canner’s directions; I processed mine for about ten minutes. Remove the jars and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the jars cool to room temperature, check the seals by pressing the middle of the lid. The lids shouldn’t ‘give,’ but if one springs back don’t worry; just move this jar to the refrigerator and plan to use the jam in the next week or so.
- Store the jam jars in a cool, dark place. This recipe makes about 7 cups of jam.
Notes
Nutrition
Save for Later
Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
Hi Eliza,
I’m very excited to find your blog. We’re beginning a similar journey around here, and I look forward to reading through your previous posts (and keeping up with current ones) as we make our way towards a more self-sufficient lifestyle.
Shannon
Cannot print your recipes at all. Very, very disappointing.
Pamela, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me know. I had no idea this function wasn’t working properly, and thanks to your feedback this has been fixed. I am always so grateful to be alerted when something isn’t working properly! Thanks again, Eliza
I love how she fixed it! I hope you saw her response!
Awesome thanks for sharing!
You are SO welcome! Hope you enjoy the peach preserves! ~EC
I have been looking for an easy and tasty recipe. Just like this one . This the best recipe I have tried. For the past 8 years I have searched . Thank you
Oh my goodness, your comment makes me so happy! I love this easy peach preserves recipe, too, and am SO glad you found it here after eight years of searching. Thank you! ~Eliza
Can this recipe be frozen?
Great question! Yes, the jam freezes very well for up to 3 months. Thanks for asking, and I will add this information to the recipe. ~Eliza
Hi, I’m just going to try this recipe. A lot of them online are really similar. Some say 4 and 1/2 cups of peaches your says 4- interesting that I came across one recipe with no pectin and it’s 10 cups of peaches, But I was afraid with that amount of peaches and no pectin it wouldn’t thicken up enough… I was curious if you or anyone has tried double or triple the recipe like it says you can do at the top? I think I’m going to try at least double. I have too many really ripe peaches that aren’t going to last much longer! Thanks
Leigh-Anne, you can easily double the recipe. This is my old tried-and-true recipe, and it’s truly foolproof. Because you use pectin, you don’t need as much sugar and it thickens perfectly. Just watch it carefully during the last few minutes of cooking so the bottom of the pan doesn’t scorch (ask me how I know). I’d love to hear back from you after you make the jam, and trust that it will be SO GOOD! ~Eliza
Lovely post and loved the recipe
Thanks so much for letting me know! This easy peach jam recipe is one of my family’s favorites, and I make it every summer. So glad you liked it! ~Eliza
Took 9 medium size peaches to get 3 pounds prepped fruit. Used 5 1/2 cups sugar and the lemon juice as directed. My pectin was on the old side but I used it anyway. The finished taste is of summer and the sweetness will go well with biscuits or as a topping for vanilla ice cream. Made up 12 four-ounce jars and one pint. The small jars will be given as Thanksgiving and Christmas gifts.
Suzanne, thank you for taking the time to leave such a peachy comment and share the quantity of peaches and sugar that worked for you. I’m SO glad your peach jam tastes yummy, and your lucky gift recipients will be very, very happy! ~Eliza
I have been looking and looking for an easy but really good recipe and this was it. This was my first time canning and was a little intimidated. If the finished product comes out like it was in the pot….AMAZING! I have a ton of fresh Georgia peaches and cannot wait to make more. These will fantastic gifts. Thank you for sharing this.
Denise, I’m so glad you like the recipe! I love opening a jar in the winter and tasting that sweet peach flavor. Your lucky gift recipients will love getting your homemade jam! Thanks so much for your great comment. ~Eliza
Please tell me the difference between cling and free stone peaches, which has more flavor? Thank you!
Great question! Cling stone peaches tend to be smaller and sweeter. They’re a little more challenging to cut and pit, because the fruit is softer and it sticks to the pit. Because of this, I like to use cling stone peaches for sauces, puree, and jam. With freestone peaches, they’re usually easier to cut in nice slices because the flesh separates easily from the pit. So freestone peaches are great when you want pretty slices to add to a salad or tart. Hope this helps! ~Eliza