By Kelly Bogard
I love fresh fruit, and living in Texas means we have plenty of options for a few favorites all summer long. But as the harvests come to an end, it’s time to make plans for the leftover fruit.
Cutting down on our food waste is important. And enjoying the tasty fruits and berries later in the year is nice, too. This recipe does both!
It’s a snap to make and doesn’t even require heating up the kitchen.
For Peach Freezer Jam, you will need…
3 lbs. fresh peaches
1 1/2 c sugar
5 tbsp instant pectin
3 tbsp lemon juice2 tsp vanilla
jelly jars
Do you know the difference between jelly and jam? It’s super simple to remember. Jelly is made with fruit juice, and jam is made with the actual fruit. They both require pectin to help them gel, but jam doesn’t have to be heated to form like jelly does.
The only time you’ll heat anything in the recipe is for blanching the peaches. You can peel them by hand if you want, but blanching helps speed up the process.
Start by bringing a pot of water to a rolling boil. Place each of the peaches in the boiling water individually and let set for about 30 seconds.
Once the peach is heated, move it immediately to an ice bath with ice and cold water. Then you should be about to pull the skin away without any trouble.
Chop the peaches into large chunks and place in a food processor along with the lemon juice and vanilla. Pulse the fruit until it is the texture you want.
After moving the peach mixture to a large bowl, stir in the sugar.
Slowly stir in the pectin to make sure you don’t end up with any clumps. Be sure you are using instant pectin and not one that requires water.
Finally, pour the jam into cleaned jelly jars, leaving half an inch at the top of each jar, so the jam can expand in the freezer. Then screw on the lids and let set for about an hour at room temperature for the pectin to do it’s job. After that hour, you can either refrigerate or freeze the jam until ready to eat.
This is a great way to save all of your leftover fruit, and it works with all kinds—including fresh berries. Freezer jam is also great for gifts. Think how excited your friends would be to get peach jam at Christmas. It should stay good for about a year in the freezer and a month in the refrigerator. So don’t let that fruit go to waste. From all of us at Texas Table Top, enjoy!
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
jelly jars
|
- 3 lb peaches
- 1 1/2 C sugar
- 5 tbsp instant pectin
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 6-8 jelly jars
Ingredients
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|
- Blanch peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds each.
- Move the hot peaches to an ice bath.
- Remove the peach skin.
- Rough chop the peaches and remove the pits.
- Combine peaches, lemon juice and vanilla in a food processor.
- Pulse to the desired constancy.
- Pour the fruit puree into a large bowl.
- Stir sugar into the fruit.
- Slowly add and mix in the pectin mixing completely and preventing clumping.
- Pour the jam prepared jelly jars leaving 1/2 inch at the top of the jar for expansion.
- Screw on the lids and allow to sit a room temperature for one hour.
- Freeze for up to one year or refrigerate for up to one month.
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