Canning Vanilla Peach Jam Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep peach jam from turning brown? ›

You can also add some lemon juice even when a recipe does not require it (1 tablespoon per cup of mashed fruit or juice at the most). Freezing your fruit and then making the jam or jelly closer to the time when you are going to eat it or give it away is also recommended.

Like most other fruits, peaches have a high enough acid level to prevent the growth of the botulism toxin. Because of this, you can use the water bath method for canning peaches.

A light sugar syrup is really the best for canning peaches.

The Best Peaches for Canning and Preserving: Clingstone Peaches. If preserved peaches or peach jam is in your future, clingstones are the best variety for the job. Unlike freestone peaches, clingstones contain a pit that clings to the fruit's flesh.

NOTE To prevent peaches from turning brown, you can soak them in a solution of 1 teaspoon of citric acid or fruit fresh or 3000 mg Vitamin C per cup of water.

Stopping The Peaches From Turning Brown

The second method is to drop the cut peaches into a bowl of cold water mixed with lemon juice. This combination of cold water and acidity will keep the peaches looking fresh while you can them.

For this recipe you can use plain water if you want, but the peaches will not be as sweet as you expect. Instead, I recommend using a light syrup made with either sugar or honey. To make light syrup with sugar: Mix 2 cups of sugar with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Increase with a 1:2 ratio as needed.

We put a lot of work into our canning and want our jars of love to be perfect. Fruit float occurs because air is trapped in the cells of the fruit. If products are properly prepared using methods in tested recipes, most of the air will be removed, and the possibility of fruit float will be reduced.

Yellow peaches are acidic enough on their own that you don't need to add more acidity with lemon juice or citric acid to safely can them. However, you'll want to use either lemon juice or Ball® Fruit Fresh to treat the peaches before canning to prevent browning.

While you are working on your peaches, bring the 9 cups of water, and 1 cup of honey to a boil in a medium saucepan to dissolve the honey into the water. Remove the pits from the peeled peaches, then halve or quarter them. Fill the sterilized jars with the peaches, placing them pit-side down (if you are using halves).

Are white or yellow peaches better for canning? ›

Only yellow fleshed peaches can be safely canned. White peaches are lower in acidity than yellow peaches. Currently there is not a tested procedure for canning white fleshed peaches; freeze them instead.

Recipe Tip

6-8 medium peaches (~4 cups) = 2 (16-ounce) cans. 6-8 medium peaches (~4 cups) = 40 ounces frozen peaches.

Why does jam taste bitter? Your jam may taste bitter because it's over-cooked. Sometimes overcooked jam can be a good thing, as it has a nice caramel flavor that will work well used in desserts. However, if it's really overcooked the sugar will give it a bitter burnt taste.

Try commercial pectin.

Add powdered pectin to the fruit juice, chopped fruit, or strained purée before heating the jam mixture. Bring the jam to a rolling or hard boil (meaning you can't stir down the bubbles) over high heat, and then add the additional sugar.

Sadly, sugar plays a huge role in set. If you cut the amount in the recipe and you don't compensate with a pectin designed for low sugar preserving, your jam may well be runny.

Here's how long homemade jam lasts: For homemade jam, using sugar and processed by canning in a hot water bath, you can expect to get about two years of shelf life when stored in a cool, dry place. Once opened, keep your homemade jam in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Expert Response. There are several reasons that home canned jam may discolor. Overcooking the sugar and juice is the most common reason. Also, after 12 months of storage it is not unusual to start seeing darker than normal color.

But, here's the trick: It must be salt water. When you get ahold of some salt water, you can really keep your fruit protected. Don't worry, it won't tarnish the flavor of the fruit – in fact, it keeps it quite yummy!

Low cooking temperature: The temperature to which you cook jam significantly impacts its thickness. If the jam doesn't reach a high enough temperature, the pectin or other gelling agents won't set. If the temperature is too high, it will be too sticky and gummy. Ideal jam sets when taken to 220 degrees Fahrenheit.