Easy Peach Jam for Canning

A jar of peach jam made at the height of the season is the closest thing a pantry has to stored sunshine. The jam here is chunky and deeply peachy — ripe fruit, sugar, lemon, and a short, hard boil with powdered pectin for a set you can rely on — ladled through a funnel into hot half-pint jars exactly as the photograph shows, then water-bath processed with tested times so the jars keep safely on the shelf.

It joins our Canning & Preserving collection alongside our Blueberry Jam, and it follows the same discipline as everything in that category: measured fruit, the full sugar the pectin is balanced for, the headspace written out, and processing times from current USDA guidance, which you should always confirm for your altitude before you start. Jam forgives a lot, but the ratios and the processing are not the places to improvise.

Choose peaches that smell like peaches. Jam cannot improve fruit — it can only preserve what is there — so this is a recipe for the box of ripe, fragrant peaches from the market stand, not the hard, pale ones from the middle of winter. Freestone varieties peel easiest and make the prettiest jam.

Peeling peaches without a fight

Ripe peaches give up their skins willingly if you blanch them first. Score a small X in the base of each peach, lower them into boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then straight into a bowl of iced water. The skins slip off in sheets with your fingers — no peeler, no wasted flesh, no ragged fruit. Work over a bowl to catch the juice, and add every drop of it to the jam pot. Under-ripe peaches resist this completely, which is the recipe's built-in ripeness test: if the skin will not slip, the fruit was not ready for jam.

The set is decided by the boil, not the clock alone

Pectin sets jam at a full, rolling boil — the kind that does not stop bubbling when you stir it — held for exactly the minute the recipe specifies. A timid simmer gives you peach sauce in jars, which is delicious but will not spoon like jam. Start timing only when the boil is truly rolling, keep the heat high and stir constantly so the bottom does not catch, and have the jars hot and ready before the pot ever reaches the boil. Jam waits for no one at the end: it goes from pot to jars immediately, while both are hot.

Ingredients

• 4 lb ripe peaches (1.8 kg), about 10 medium
• 4 1/2 cups granulated sugar (900 g)
• 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice (30 ml)
• 1 (1.75 oz) package powdered fruit pectin (49 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter (2 g), optional, to reduce foaming

Amounts are for the yield below. US customary measures first, grams in brackets for scale users.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Prepare the jars and canner. Wash 6 half-pint (240 ml) canning jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water. Keep the jars hot in a pan of simmering water or a low oven. Fill a boiling-water canner with enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch (2.5 cm) and bring it towards a simmer. New lids every time — reused lids are the most common cause of failed seals.
2. Peel and chop the peaches. Score an X in the base of each peach, blanch in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then cool in iced water and slip the skins off. Halve, pit and chop the fruit into small pieces, catching all the juice. Measure exactly 4 1/2 cups of prepared fruit and juice (about 1.1 litres) into a large, heavy pot.
3. Cook the fruit with pectin. Stir the lemon juice and the powdered pectin into the fruit. Add the butter if using. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly — the boil that keeps bubbling even as you stir. Peaches foam generously at this stage; keep stirring and do not walk away.
4. Add the sugar and boil hard. Add all the sugar at once, stir it in, and return the pot to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly, then take the pot off the heat and skim off any foam with a clean spoon. Work promptly from here — the jam begins to set as it cools.
5. Fill the hot jars. Ladle the hot jam through a canning funnel into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) of headspace. Run a flat utensil around the inside of each jar to release air bubbles, wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth, and apply the lids and bands fingertip-tight — snug, not forced.
6. Process in the water bath. Lower the jars into the canner, making sure they are covered by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water. Bring to a rolling boil and process half-pints for 10 minutes at altitudes up to 1,000 ft (305 m), adjusting upward for higher altitudes following current USDA guidance. Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then lift the jars onto a towel and leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check that every lid is sealed — the centre should not flex — before labelling and storing.

Nutrition estimate

Nutrition figures are estimates calculated from standard ingredient data for the yield stated. Your actual values will vary with brands, substitutions and portion sizes — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee.

Storage & reheating

Sealed jars keep in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months; check the seal before opening any jar, and refrigerate after opening, using within about 3 weeks. Any jar that fails to seal goes straight into the refrigerator and should be used within the week — it is peach jam the fast way, not a failure. Nutrition is estimated per tablespoon. For home canning, always follow current USDA guidelines and tested processing times for your altitude.

Canning safety — read first

Home canning must follow tested processes exactly. The times on this page follow the structure of current USDA guidance for the stated jar size at 0-1,000 feet elevation; always confirm processing times and altitude adjustments in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning or the National Center for Home Food Preservation before you start. Never taste food from a jar with a failed seal, bulging lid or off odor — discard it.

Easy Peach Jam for Canning

Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq, FryDaily editor · Published 20 October 2026

Ripe peaches, a reliable set, golden half-pints — August, kept in a jar.

Yield: 6 half-pint jars  ·  Scale: 1x2x3x

Prep25 minutes

Cook35 minutes

Total1 hour

Servings6 half-pint jars

Calories52 kcal

Save on PinterestCook Mode

Ingredients

• 4 lb ripe peaches (1.8 kg), about 10 medium
• 4 1/2 cups granulated sugar (900 g)
• 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice (30 ml)
• 1 (1.75 oz) package powdered fruit pectin (49 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter (2 g), optional, to reduce foaming

Tick ingredients off as you prep, and tap a step below to mark it done as you cook. Scaling adjusts the listed amounts - seasoning to taste stays your call.

Instructions

1. Prepare the jars and canner. Wash 6 half-pint (240 ml) canning jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water. Keep the jars hot in a pan of simmering water or a low oven. Fill a boiling-water canner with enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch (2.5 cm) and bring it towards a simmer. New lids every time — reused lids are the most common cause of failed seals.
2. Peel and chop the peaches. Score an X in the base of each peach, blanch in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then cool in iced water and slip the skins off. Halve, pit and chop the fruit into small pieces, catching all the juice. Measure exactly 4 1/2 cups of prepared fruit and juice (about 1.1 litres) into a large, heavy pot.
3. Cook the fruit with pectin. Stir the lemon juice and the powdered pectin into the fruit. Add the butter if using. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly — the boil that keeps bubbling even as you stir. Peaches foam generously at this stage; keep stirring and do not walk away.
4. Add the sugar and boil hard. Add all the sugar at once, stir it in, and return the pot to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly, then take the pot off the heat and skim off any foam with a clean spoon. Work promptly from here — the jam begins to set as it cools.
5. Fill the hot jars. Ladle the hot jam through a canning funnel into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) of headspace. Run a flat utensil around the inside of each jar to release air bubbles, wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth, and apply the lids and bands fingertip-tight — snug, not forced.
6. Process in the water bath. Lower the jars into the canner, making sure they are covered by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water. Bring to a rolling boil and process half-pints for 10 minutes at altitudes up to 1,000 ft (305 m), adjusting upward for higher altitudes following current USDA guidance. Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then lift the jars onto a towel and leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check that every lid is sealed — the centre should not flex — before labelling and storing.

Calories: 52 kcalProtein: 0 gCarbohydrates: 13 gFat: 0 gSaturated fat: 0 gSodium: 1 mgFiber: 0 gSugar: 13 g

Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq · FryDaily. Printing? This card is designed to print cleanly on its own.

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