This recipe was created and contributed by Ashley Baugh, a Pomona's home jam maker. Ashley says: "It was a huge success! The filling is perfectly thick for pie filling; the taste is also amazing, like peachy Christmas. We made peach jam sweetened with honey with the peach parts we couldn't use for the filling and it was also fantastic."Yield: two pint jars, which is enough for one 9″ pie. To make more than that, multiply all ingredients by the number of jars you intend to make. If you are making more than two pints, be sure you use a sauce pan large enough to hold all the peach slices and bring them to a boil.
Notes
- Processing Time: The USDA and the National Center for Home Food Preservation have not yet established a safe processing time for quart jars of pie filling made with pectin. That is why we say to can this pie filling in pint jars only.
- Best to use fresh fruit. If using frozen fruit that have been defrosted, reduce the amount of water or the filling may be too liquidy.
- You can use other sweeteners that measure like sugar, and it's possible to use less sugar if you prefer the pie less sweet. (We used 1/3 cup mixed white and brown sugar.) It's also possible to use honey or another liquid sweetener, but we haven't tried it that way. Our best guess is ¼ cup up to ½ cup liquid sweetener.
- Leave out the spices if you want plain fruit pie filling. OR adjust spices as you prefer, so long as you do not exceed 2 tsp. of total spices.
- This recipe can be made with peaches, nectarines, apricots, sweet cherries, sweet plums, pears, mangoes, guava, and figs.
Servings 2 pint jars
Ingredients
- 5 cups peach slices (peeled or not) see note for other fruit options
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Pomona's Pectin powder mixed with sweetener
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice bottled
- 1 teaspoon calcium water see step #1
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves see note
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg see note
- ¼ teaspoon allspice see note
- ¼ teaspoon ginger see note
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon see note
- ½ teaspoon cardamom see note
Instructions
- Before You Begin, prepare calcium water.To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
- Prepare 5 cups of peach slices. Set aside.
- Measure sugar into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sugar. Set aside.
- Measure peach slices, water, lemon juice, calcium water, and spices into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil gently for several minutes until peach slices are thoroughly heated.
- Add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring gently for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve pectin while the mixture comes back up to a boil. Once the mixture returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Funnel into clean, hot pint jars, leaving 1” of headspace. Wipe the rims, put on hot lids, tighten the rings to finger-tip tight, place in boiling water-bath canner, and boil for 15 minutes at sea level. Add 1 minute more for every 1,000 feet above sea level. Remove jars from canner and set on counter to cool. When completely cool, check seals; lids should be sucked down. Use within 1 year.
L
How long would you process in water bath if doing quart size?
Shelby Collings
The USDA and the National Center for Home Food Preservation have not yet established a safe processing time for quart jars of pie filling made with pectin. That is why we say to can this pie filling in pint jars only.
D Duncan
I see you can use nectarines with this recipe, can you also use white peaches?
Shelby Collings
Hello D,
Yes you sure can!
Annee Harrington
I chopped the peaches into smaller bites and made a jam out of this recipe. Turned out fabulous! Pomona’s has really opened the options of what I can do with various jams. Keep up the great work!
Michelle
Ground spices or whole spices?
Shelby Collings
Ground spices
Talya
I had a ton of peaches and wanted to try this, but didn’t want it too spiced. I kept the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg the same, omitted the allspice and cut the cloves and cardamom in half. It was delicious! I made 4 batches worth so I am thrilled it turned out. I haven’t made it into a pie yet, but what I tasted before I canned it was wonderful! Looking forward to lots of peach pie and cobbler!
Sarah Grant
Followed this recipe but omitted the allspice and cardamom, added a tsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 cup bourbon, let it boil about 5 minutes, then added the pectin, brought back up to a boil then put into jars and canned. Oh… my! It is delicious, and perfectly thickened. Thank you! We love Pomona Pectin!
Sue
I found my peaches broke down a lot, too much for my preference. Any suggestions? I also thought the cloves were a bit overwhelming so I would probably eliminate that next time around. I increased the sugar more than I normally would to off-set the spices a bit.
Sheena
In the additional notes you put that you used less sugar 1/3 cup mixed white and brown sugar. Now is that 1/3 total or 1/3 of each kind (so 2/3 total)? Just want to see what is the minimum sugar I can get away with as I made it as above and it was super sweet.
Stephanie
I’m wondering the same thing. Pomona’s, can you clarify?
Shelby Collings
Great question, yes, we used 1/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Happy jamming!
Shelby Collings
Great question, yes, we used 1/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Happy jamming!
Olivia Walker
Is it ok to leave out all of the spices but add a small amount of almond extract? I want to make a peach pie filling recipe I found, but without the Clear Jel. Ick. Also, can I use 3/4 c. of white sugar instead of mixing the white and brown? Thank you!
Mary Lou Sumberg
Hi Olivia,
Yes, it is fine to leave out the spices and add a small amount (up to 1 teaspoon) of almond extract. And it is fine to use whatever sweetener you choose — including 3/4 cup of white sugar.
Thanks for using Pomona’s Pectin — and let us know how your pie filling turns out!
Caryn Boehm
But how long and at what temp do you bake the pie?
Mary Lou Sumberg
Hi Caryn,
We are not experts in making and cooking pies, only in making the filling and how to can it, so I can’t give you exact directions for how to cook the pie.
My memory from when I tried this recipe in my kitchen with a friend who is a pie expert is that we pre-baked the shell for 10 or 15 minutes, probably at about 350 degrees, in order to harden it a little to prevent sogginess and also because the filling is already at least partially cooked.
Then, after the crust had cooled a little, we put the filling in from the pint jars and put the crumb crust on top of it. Then back in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until it was bubbling and the crust and topping looked done. You can also put a lattice crust on top of it.
I hope this helps and I suggest you check in a cookbook like The Joy of Cooking or online for more precise directions.