Peach Jam is a low-sugar or low-honey jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. This is the same recipe you’ll find on the direction and recipe sheet that comes with the pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.
Servings 5 cups
Ingredients
- 4 cups peaches (about 3 pounds) mashed or peeled + mashed
- 4 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
- ¼ cup lemon juice bottled
- ½ cup up to 1 cup honey or ¾ cup up to 2 cups sugar
- 3 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder mixed with sweetener
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.
- Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small saucepan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
- Pit, chop, and mash or peel, pit, and mash peaches.
- Measure fruit into saucepan.
- Add calcium water, and lemon juice and mix well.
- Measure sugar or room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sweetener. Set aside.
- Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
- Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
Monica
is it possible to bake the peaches w/ a very light sprinkling of sugar for some caramelization first then mash and measure? Will this affect the jelling process? Wanna to get some caramelized flavours in the jam…
Shelby Collings
That should be just fine Monica!
Shauna Fleming
I would like to make peach jam using no sugar or artificial sweeteners and only white grape juice to sweet it. What amount would I use to make jam. This time of year I would need to use frozen peaches.
Shelby Collings
Hello Shauna,
You will want to use our recipe, HERE, and simply use all peaches instead of peaches and cherries, 3 cups mashed in total. You will also sub the white grape juice for the apple juice.
Happy jamming!
Andrew
I have a question that isn’t specific to this recipe, but I’ll put it here because I just made a batch of this. I’m wondering, how long does calcium water stay good for? I had some that I had mixed up for some jam I did maybe 5-6 weeks ago, and was keeping in the refrigerator for the next round, but when I took it out I saw that it had some suspicious-looking clumps, so I threw it out and mixed up a new batch. Could I have used it? Thanks.
Shelby Collings
The calcium water can be stored in the fridge for several months (will just need to be tossed if it has any floating bits or smell or color). It can also be stored in the freezer and will keep indefinitely, and will just need to be thawed before use. We also highly recommend labeling your jar of calcium water, as it seems to be the first item tossed when cleaning the fridge/freezer 😉.
Jennifer Maguire
This peach jam is delicious, but, as someone else mentioned, mine is too stiff, although I followed the directions. I had the same problem earlier this summer with sour cherry jam. I wondered (can’t find anything with a quick Google search) if drought conditions concentrated the natural pectin in the fruit? The fruit this year is small, but very flavorful!
Can you suggest how I would know, prior to the jam setting up, whether to reduce the amount of pectin? I’ve used Pomona’s Universal Pectin for many years and this is the first year I’ve had this problem! Thank you.
Shelby Collings
Hello Jennifer,
Great questions and insight. First you are always welcome to decrease the amount of pectin in a recipe, and make it more appealing to your tastebuds. Unfortunately, there is no sure way to know before it fully sets, how much pectin to adjust to. I can say that if you fruit does not appear as juicy as you would expect from perfectly ripe fruit of its variety, then a bit of water or unsweetened juice can be added to make up for the lack of juices.
Several environmental factors are at play with the harvest this year (and have been for many years), that are impacting the consistency of the various fruits that we are working with here in the sates.
Andrew
Writing this a year after the original question appeared. I just made another few batches of peach, and an important idea occurred to me. Is it correct to think that the amount of pectin is going to be relative to the amount of sugar used? I’d think, the more sugar, the thicker the mixture. If so, this might be an important part of the answer to Jennifer.
For my first batch of peach in 202), I used 1 3/4 cups sugar (on the upper end of your scale), and 3 teaspoons of pectin as in the recipe,. It turned out much too thick. I experimented with subsequent batches, and this year got it just right, using 1 teaspoon of pectin to the same 1 3/4 cups of sugar. Is the amount of sugar a factor as I think, or is it just a question of the natural properties of the fruit and the vagaries of how the trees fared in a given year? (For what it’s worth, the peaches all came from the same two trees that are owned by friends.) Maybe 3 teaspoons of pectin is needed with 1/2 cup of sugar or a comparably small amount. If this is an operable factor, it might be good to include a range in the otherwise great instructions that come with the pectin.
RedBlueSpice
A few questions to ensure I am practicing safe canning:
1- May I use a food mill, to mash my fruit, then measure to 4 c? I’m assuming the mill would make it a finer mash, therefore there would be more fruit possibly?
2- May I add in some cardamom? If yes, how much to have safe canning?
Thank you!
Shelby Collings
1. Yes, you sure can. You may need to adjust the pectin to accommodate the additional liquid.
2. Yes, you can use 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom per 4. cups of mashed fruit.
Happy jamming!
Tracy
Turned out amazing! I used 5 cups of peaches (realized I cut up too much) and 5 tsp of calcium water, 1 cup of organic sugar, 4 tsp pectin, a couple extra T of lemon juice to compensate for my 5 cups of peaches. I was looking for a low sugar peach jam recipe. I think this is it! Spread it on top of homeade sourdough bread. YUM! The 1 cup of sugar was plenty.
Tracie
Hello! The recipe doesn’t specify what size jar to be used. I know that most approved recipes have specific jar size requirements so I wanted to make sure I follow the rules. This will be my first time using Pomona’s Pectin and first time canning peach jam! Thank you!
Shelby Collings
Great question Tracie!
Generally we recommend ½ pint (8 oz or 1 cup) jars for low-sugar jams and jellies. The ¼ pint (4 oz or ½ cup) are a good size also if you’re making the jam or jelly for gifts.
You can use 1 pint (2 cup) jars but it’s important to remember that a jar of low-sugar jam or jelly will last only about 3 weeks in the refrigerator once opened. So unless you and your family can eat 2 cups of jam in 3 weeks, it’s better to use the smaller jars.
The processing time for all three jar sizes of jam or jelly is the same.
Ellen Houseward
My jams last year looked like they were thickened with corn starch. Any suggestions for this year?
Shelby Collings
We are not sure what that means exactly. Could you describe what you would like to change about your jam?
Donna
Do you have the nutritional info for the peach jam when making with Truvia? I make this for a bake sale and let potential buyers know ti is diabetic friendly – I try to give them some nutritional data. Love the product!
Shelby Collings
Hello Donna,
So sorry we do not have that information for you! There are websites you can use to generate that information though 😊
Pamela Cohen
Hi, I just made the Peach Jam and it came out a little grainy. Not sure if I over cooked it. Let it go 2 minutes after adding sweetener and pectin. I realized too, that I added more lemon juice than called for 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup. ( Misread the recipe). Can too much lemon juice be the cause of the graininess ( too much pectin?)
Shelby Collings
Hello Pamela,
What a bummer! We have an article on our website, just for this issue!
If you stir the pectin powder into an amount of sweetener that is beyond the range shown in our recipes, or have too much sweetener already added to the fruit, the pectin powder will be inhibited from dissolving and may go grainy. Pomona’s Pectin can only properly dissolve in a low-sugar environment, so it is necessary to keep the sweetener low (within our range) while you are dissolving the pectin in the boiling fruit mixture. Additional sweetener can be added after the pectin is fully dissolved.
When the pectin becomes grainy from being stirred into a higher-sweetener mixture, you can’t get rid of the graininess by more cooking. The fix is to add enough more mashed fruit or unsweetened juice to bring the sugar or honey level down to within the original recipe’s sweetener range. This allows the grainy pectin to dissolve and do its job of jelling the original amount of mashed fruit or juice.
You will also add pectin, calcium water, and lemon or lime juice (if called for in the recipe) for the additional mashed fruit or juice. You will add the pectin by making liquid pectin using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. You can make the liquid pectin with boiling water or boiling unsweetened fruit juice.
First determine:
How much additional mashed fruit for jam or juice for jelly do you need to add to bring the sugar or honey level down to within the original recipe’s sweetener range? See example below.
Using the original recipe, how much pectin will you need to jell this additional fruit or juice?
Using the original recipe, how much calcium water will you need for the additional fruit or juice?
Using the original recipe, how much lemon (or lime) juice will you need for the additional fruit or juice?
Example: If you made jelly with 4 cups of blackberry juice and stirred the pectin into 3 cups of sugar (2 cups is the sugar limit for 4 cups of juice), then you will have to add 2 cups of unsweetened juice to bring the sugar level to within the low-sugar range (3 cups of sugar is the limit for 6 cups of juice). You will also add 2 teaspoons calcium water and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice for the additional 2 cups of blackberry juice. Then you will make liquid pectin with ½ cup boiling liquid and 2 teaspoons pectin.
Use the table below to figure out how much water or unsweetened juice is required to dissolve the additional pectin.
Pectin to Add : Amount of Boiling Liquid
Up to 3 teaspoons : ½ cup liquid
4 to 4 ¾ teaspoons : ¾ cup liquid
5 to 6 teaspoons : 1 cup liquid
7 teaspoons : 1 ¼ cups liquid
8 teaspoons : 1 1/3 cups liquid
Make liquid pectin by measuring the correct amount of water or unsweetened fruit juice into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Put boiling liquid in cup for immersion blender, or in food processor, or in blender. Add pectin. It is very important to vent the lid (if there is one) to let steam out. Don’t use an enclosed blender that can’t be vented. Blend for 10 seconds, then stop and scrape down the sides so all pectin clumps are in or on the liquid. Blend for a full minute until all powder is totally dissolved.
Fix Your Jam/Jelly: Empty jars into sauce pan. Add additional fruit for jam or juice for jelly. Add additional calcium water. Add additional lemon juice (if called for in the recipe). Stir well. Bring mixture to a full boil. Add liquid pectin and stir well. If you want to add more sweetener, do that now and stir well to dissolve. When mixture returns to a full boil, remove from the heat. Jar and process according to the recipe sheet that comes with Pomona’s Pectin.
Genna
Hi totally new to Pomona pectin but am super excited to try it out!! I have some previously canned peaches that I was hoping to use! Would this still work or would the flavor not be there, and would i need to change anything? Thanks so much!
Shelby Collings
Hello Genna,
We would not recommend using previous canned fruit for your jam. Fresh or frozen (then thawed) fruit works best!
Lea
I don’t have access to Calcium water but have way too many overripe peaches! Can I make it without calcium water?
Shelby Collings
Unfortunately, the calcium is essential for making the jam jell with Pomona’s Pectin. We would be happy to send you some replacement calcium powder if you are out, simply email us at info@pomonapectin.com with your mailing address and about how much pectin you have left.
Jen
Hi, I am am a restricted diet and cannot have sugar or honey. May I use maple syrup or stevia liquid to sweeten? Thank you!
Shelby Collings
You sure can! The maple syrup will measure like honey. Liquid stevia will require you to make a liquid pectin, you can find those directions on our instruction sheet that comes with Pomona’s Pectin, or our digital copy HERE on the top of page 1.
Freyja
How much almond extract can I add to this recipe?
Shelby Collings
You can add up to 1 teaspoon. Yum!
Judy DeLorenzo
Never mind. You can scratch my question!
The yield is correct. It made 11 half-pints, which equals 11 cups. So it actually made a bit more than the recipe’s stated yield.
I didn’t make the conversion properly, my mistake.
Judy DeLorenzo
Hello. I double the recipe and was surprised that it only made 5-1/2 cups when it should have made 10 cups.
I measured 8 cups of mashed peaches
8 teaspoons of calcium water (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup honey
5 teaspoon pectin powder (I purposely used a tad less because I didn’t want the jam to be super gelled)
The ONLY thing I did different than the recipe is boil the jam for 3 more minutes than the recipe states – but that wouldn’t evaporate 4-1/2 cups!
So I have two questions:
What the heck happened lol
Is the jam safe to store and eat?
Thanks
Judy
MaryAnn Amrich
I love the flavor of this peach jam but mine came out more like peach preserves. I wonder if the peaches would be more “jammy” if I put them through a food mill instead of just mashing them.
Sharon
I want to use my electric jam maker. Would I do this the same way ?
Shelby Collings
Hello Sharon,
Yes, you can use Pomona’s to make jam in your electric jam maker or bread machine. You will need to follow a Pomona’s recipe and the basic directions for Cooked Jam – Low Sugar or Honey for it to work properly.
You need to mash & measure the fruit into a bowl. If our recipe is too big for your machine, then you can do a half recipe. Add the calcium water & lemon juice (if called for) and stir well. Then mix the pectin into the sugar (or other sweetener) and then add the pectin-sweetener mix into the bowl of fruit and stir well. Then put the bowl of jam mixture into the machine and turn it on.
Carol
I used to make a peach raspberry jam that was yummy. It was about 4 parts peach to 1 part raspberry. Would I be able to substitute 1/2 to 1 cup of raspberries instead of the peaches in this recipe. I’ve been loving your pectin and the low sugar recipes.
Lori Hindle
If I want to put this in a 500 ml jar, not 250, how long would I boil it for?
Love Pomona’s!
Shelby Collings
Hello Lori,
It would be the same 10. minutes.
Emily
Is it ok to add 1/2 tsp allspice?
Shelby Collings
Absolutely!
Annie Ryan
The recipe did not say to turn off heat and then keep the jars in the water bath canner 5 minutes before removing. Should I have kept the jars in the canner those 5 minutes like I do when making pickles?
Shelby Collings
Hello Annie,
Hope, it should be just fine without the 5 minutes of sitting.
Janet
Hi! I want to make peach bourbon jam, but recipes online are so full of sugar. Can I just add the bourbon to your peach jam recipe?
Shelby Collings
Hello Janet,
We have a wonderful Peach Bourbon/Whiskey Jam, HERE, simply omit the thyme. Happy jamming! 😊
Jacqui Nichols
First time jammers here! We followed the peach jam recipie to the letter and the jam set wayy too hard. . The flavor was great but it definately not the soft, spreadable texture we expected.I feel like there was too much pectin. Can I back off the amount of pectin for a looser set??
Shelby Collings
Hello Jacqui,
Welcome to the Pomona’s family! Yes, you sure can! We recommend starting with 1/2 teaspoon less than called for.
You can also use our troubleshooting page, HERE, and it will help you determine where things may have gone astray and how to fix up your preserves to your liking. 😊
Adrienne
Would this be the appropriate recipe to use to make mango jam? It’s listed in the same category on the package insert, but not listed on the website. I didn’t realize that there were such different recipes when I made my jam tonight. I followed the strawberry jam recipe that didn’t call for any lemon. Will my jam go bad now that I didn’t put the lemon in it?
Shelby Collings
Hello Adrienne,
Yes, this recipe would work just fine as a conversion for Mango! The jam you have already made can be stored in the freezer instead of the pantry, since it is lacking in acid and is not shelf-stable.
Happy jamming!
Linda
I wanted to make peach pit jelly. Can I follow the same directions for the peach jam recipe?
Shelby Collings
We are not certain about this Linda. Would there still be 4 cups of mashed fruit?
Kathy
Hi there since each recipe is different they call for different amounts of calcium water. The example states 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 teaspoon calcium. You then shake,. If the recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of calcium water do I still dissolve it in a half cup of water or does the water go up with the example such as1 cup water and 1 tea calcium? Sorry this is my first time with Pomona’s and I want to get it right. Is the calcium always dissolved with a half cup of water?
Thank you
Kathleen
Shelby Collings
Hello Kathleen,
Welcome to the Pomona’s family! Yes, you will always mix 1/2 teaspoon calcium water with 1/2 cup water. You will then pulled your needed teaspoons from that solution.
The calcium water can then be stored in the fridge for several months (will just need to be tossed if it has any floating bits or smell or color). It can also be stored in the freezer and will keep indefinitely, and will just need to be thawed before use. We also highly recommend labeling your jar of calcium water, as it seems to be the first item tossed when cleaning the fridge/freezer . 😊
Happy jamming and please let us know if you have any other questions, we are here and happy to help!
Juanita D
I made this recipe, Peach Jam, and tripled with no problems. I only added 1 cup raw sugar per recipe which was 3 cups total. I used a stick blender to get rid of the larger bits of fruit because I did not want ‘fruit float’. A am so liking Pomona’s Univeral Pectin
Shelby Collings
Thank you Juanita!! Happy jamming 😊
Dan Hermary
Can I substitute munk fruit sweetener?
Shelby Collings
Hello Dan,
Yes, you sure can. We recommend starting with the smallest amount and then adding more once the pectin/sweetener is dissolved.
Happy jamming!
Michelle
The instructions in the box used to have a peach freezer jam. I am not seeing one on the website either. I do remember you have to cook part of it, but that’s it. Do you have a recipe link to making peach freezer jam?
Shelby Collings
Hello Michelle,
We now our freezer jam recipe on our website, HERE.
Happy jamming!
Jodie
This is my first time making peach Jam and my family loves it! I did a double batch and used 2 cups of sugar and it is perfect. Thank you for the great recipe!
DJ Edmonds
Can I substitute 1/2 peaches with 1/2 cup jalapeno pepper infused water to add a kick, and still maintain a safe ph level?
Shelby Collings
Hello DJ,
We would recommend that that you increase the lemon juice to 1/2 cup when you substitute 1/2 cup peaches for 1/2 cup pepper infused water…just to be extra sure!
Ali
Would I be able to add strawberries into this successfully?
Shelby Collings
Absolutely! Just as long as there are 4 cups total mashed fruit per batch. You could do 2 cups mashed strawberries and 2 cups mashed peaches, or 3 to 1 or any combination you’d like.
Happy jamming!
Debbie
Can I double the recipe with good results?
Shelby Collings
You sure can!
Steve
Do I have to boil the jars in a water bath or can I use a layer of wax to seal my jams? Cooking the jam with the pectin should allow the jam to gel and set. I want to preserve the integrity of the fruit and its color with out over cooking.
Shelby Collings
Hello Steve,
The FDA and the USDA do not stand by using a wax seal as a safe way to preserve your jam. We must recommend doing the water-bath canning method for safely canning your jam.
mb ray
I wish there was a “yield” amount for each recipe so I can prepare an accurate amount of jars and lids.
Shelby Collings
Hello there,
Right under the recipe title is the “yield”. Happy jamming!
MARY-BETH RAY
Thanks!!!
Katharine
Hi! Is the lemon juice required for safety if peaches were peeled?
Shelby Collings
Yes, the lemon juice is still required. Happy jamming!
Yellaumbrella
Can I use fresh lemon juice or do i need to use bottled?
Shelby Collings
We recommend using bottled lemon juice, as it has a guaranteed pH level. 😊
Betty D Quinn
I want t make peach jam. If i use Truvia the ratio to sugar is one cup sugar is equal to 1/2 cup truvia. Will that work?
Shelby Collings
That will work just fine, happy jamming!
Noelle Bunk
Do I have to use any sugars with these recipes?
Shelby Collings
This recipe is written for sweeteners. If you would like to make a peach jam without any additional sweetener you can follow our directions, HERE on the top of page 1.
Mandy
Is lemon juice neccessary or can I omit it?
Shelby Collings
Yes, the lemon juice is necessary. Happy jamming!
Patricia
The fruit is on the top and a layer of just jelly at the bottom.
Solution?
Shelby Collings
What you have is called “fruit float.” When the jars of jam are very hot and there is no jell yet, the pulp, which is lighter than the juice, is able to float to the top of the jar. Strawberries are prone to fruit float although it doesn’t always happen. Other fruits can have fruit float also. You are not doing anything wrong. However, if you want to discourage fruit float from happening, you can mash your fruit a little more and you can cook your fruit for a little while before you bring it up to the full boil. You could even add a little of your sweetener to cook with the fruit, still leaving enough sweetener to adequately disburse the pectin powder without going over the sweetener limit.
In the future, when you take the jars out of the water bath, leave them for about an hour to start cooling and seal. Then come back and check to make sure they are all sealed. If you see that you have fruit float, turn the jars upside down to force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Come back in about 45 minutes and turn the jars right side up to once again force the pulp to redistribute through the jar. Check again in another 45 minutes and if you have a distinct dividing line, turn the jars upside down again. Turn the jars right side up again in about 30 minutes. You always want the jars to end up right side up. By keeping the pulp well distributed throughout the jars, there will not be a dividing line when the jell finally starts and locks everything into place.
If your jam has jelled in a separated state, you can gently stir the pulp and juice back together when you open the jar to eat it. Separated jam in sealed jars will store safely.
Jessica
Your website is awesome and very helpful