Canning Vanilla Peach Jam Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it safe to can white peach jam? ›

There is evidence that some varieties of white-flesh peaches are higher in pH (lower in acid) than traditional yellow varieties. The natural pH of some white peaches can exceed 4.6, making them a low-acid food for canning purposes.

It will last several weeks in the fridge, but can be frozen for up to three months. Obviously you can use the jam anywhere you like jam — on toast, in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or on fresh biscuits.

Tips For Canning Peaches

Add a little lemon juice to each jar before adding the peaches to ensure you reach safe ph acidity levels for canning. Halved peaches take up for space in the jars than sliced. If you are planning on halving your peaches you may need to use more jars.

It takes about 5 good sizes peaches or nectarines (or about 10 plums) to fill one quart jar. An average of 171/2 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 16 to 24 quarts ; an average of 21/2 pounds per quart.

White peaches don't have as much acidity making it difficult to preserve and cling peaches stick to the pit making them very difficult to separate so you'll likely lose a lot of good peach flesh in the process of trying to remove the pit.

As long as the seal is sound, jams can be stored in a dark, room temperature place for 12 to 18 months. But that's just a “best by” guideline, clarifies Harris: “If the seal is good, there is no visible mold, and the jam looks, smells, and tastes fine it should be OK to eat much beyond that time frame,” she wrote.

Lemon is crucial to balancing those sweet flavors, but it also helps the pectin to firm up the jam. It can be added at the start of the cooking process or towards the end, but what must be taken into account is that adding liquids to the jam mixture will inevitably require the jam to cook for longer.

You don't have to, but proceed carefully. "If you are really anti-pectin, you can omit it, but you'll need to cook the jam longer. Doing so will remove most of the water content in order to get it to set up properly and in turn, will result in a smaller yield," adds Wynne.

Pectin Substitute

Cornstarch - Another plant-based thickening agent, cornstarch is a great substitute for pectin. Gelatin - For non-vegan menu items, you can substitute gelatin for pectin, but it will yield a different consistency.

Lemon Juice and Fruit Jams: A Perfect Pairing

As I noted above, almost all fruit contains some acid, but I always add lemon juice to a jam mixture to ensure the acidity is high enough for gelling and food safety (and because I like the flavor).

Why do peaches turn brown after canning? ›

What Causes Peaches To Brown? Peach can be eaten after washing it. But if you are slicing and freezing peaches or canning them, it is nearly impossible to prevent them from turning brown. The browning process kicks because when you cut a peach, a group of enzymes called polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) are activated.

If your recipe called for lemon juice and you forgot to put it in, your mixture will not be acid enough for safe canning. You have to open the jars and put the mixture into a sauce pan.

Clingstone. The pretty yellow peach flesh "clings" to the stone, and therefore the name. These are the earliest peaches to come in. Distinguished by their juiciness and sweet peach flavor, they lend themselves very well to jams, preserves and canning.

Freezing peaches is a little easier and quicker and produces wonderfully sweet and delicious peaches to put in your freezer. Canning peaches produces jars of peeled and halved peaches for your pleasure.

Mix citric acid with a 1/4 of a cup of water, coat peaches to prevent darkening. Pack slices into jars, almost to the top. Bring the juice to a boil, add peach skins and pits if desired, simmer for a few minutes. Remove skins and pits and discard.

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.

Usually that thin, white film is jelled foam. If your fruit was foamy in the sauce pan and you didn't skim the foam off, or if your mixture had a lot of air in it and you didn't do air releasing before putting the jam in the jars, the foam or tiny air bubbles rise to the top of the jar and form that white film.

As long as the can is in good shape, the contents should be safe to eat, although the taste, texture and nutritional value of the food can diminish over time. Home canned foods should be used within 1 year.

You don't have to blanch peaches but it does make peeling peaches much easier for canning! When you blanch fruit correctly it does not cook at all. Fill a large soup pot with water and bring it to a boil. Blanch or scald the peaches by dipping them into the hot water for 30 seconds to 1 minute.