Peach Jam

You may remember that we went to the Peach Orchard awhile back. Well those peaches didn't last very long! We enjoyed Breakfast Parfaits with Homemade Granola, Peach Cake and Peach Jam.

This recipe is almost identical to the Strawberry Jam recipe. 

Peach Jam in 3 Steps

5 cups peaches, pitted, peeled and crushed

6 Tbsp Ball RealFruit Instant Pectin

2 cups sugar

3 Tbsp lemon juice

Stir peaches, sugar and lemon juice in bowl. Let stand for 10 mins. 

Add pectin gradually to prevent clumping. Stir for 3 mins.

Ladle jam into 6 clean half-pint jars and let stand for 30 mins.

Jam can be stored in the fridge for 3 weeks or in the freezer for 1 year.

(Note: If you don't want to make 6 jars, use this great tool from Ball to get the right measurements.)

Probably the best paring knife ever!

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches

I love canning jars

Particularly these quilted ones

Ready for the freezer

Jam Session

Well its summer which means scorching heat, long days of sunshine and best of all fresh produce.  We LOVE fresh fruit in our house.  The rate at which we consume fruit has led to the family saying, "Eat now, or forever lose your piece".  One thing we love to do with our fruit is make jam.  And alot of it!  Our family uses an 8oz jar in a single breakfast so having a large supply is very important!  Today we made 18 jars in our first canning day of the season.  This is just a drop in the bucket, or jar.  Lord willing we will have 75 jars by the end of the season. 

This year we used the Ball Instant Fruit Pectin over the traditional Sure-Jell. 
In the past we always used the Sure-Jell recipe which calls for 4 cups of sugar. 
The Ball Instant recipe however only uses 1 1/2 cups.  Now you would be hard pressed to find someone who loves sugar more than me.   But despite the lack of sugar I think this recipe is better.

Fresh Jam in 3 Steps
4 cups crushed fruit (we used strawberries)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 packet of Ball Instant Fruit Pectin

Step 1
Stir sugar and pectin in a bowl.

Step 2
Combine wth crushed fruit.  Stir for the 3 minutes.

Step 3
Ladle jam into clean jars.  Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.
Store in refrigerator for 3 weeks or freezer for 1 year.

This little gem was priceless