Most of the time when I’m preparing jam to can, the added sugar levels in the recipes are off the charts and it’s a big turn off!
I’ve been freezing my no-sugar added jams but finally found a lower sugar canning approved recipe for peach jam. The recipe still had added pectin which I’m personally not a fan of using because of the dextrose.
I prefer an old school, slowly cooked jam, where the flavor of the fruit shines through, not the sugar.
This recipe comes from an approved canning recipe from Ball with a few approved tweaks- removing the added pectin and decreasing the amount of added sugar.
To be extra safe, I ran these tweaks by my friend, Anna at @smarthomecanning. She’s a Master Food Preserver and is so helpful with all things canning! Thank you, Anna!
Enjoy!
Low Sugar Peach Jam
Description
Skip the extra sugar and added pectin and still be able to can your jam with this simple recipe! This jam highlights the wonderful flavors of peach without all the added sugar canning recipes call for.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash, remove pits and stems from peaches, and chop into small 1/2 inch chunks.
- In a wide stainless-steel saucepan, combine the chopped peaches, lemon juice, sugar, and water.
- Slowly bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Once it’s at a boil, lower the temperature to low- medium low and simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently and checking on the temperature often.
- While the jam is cooking, prepare your water bath canner, jars, lids, and bands.
- Once the jam has reached the gelling point (220F,) you can remove the saucepan from the heat and start to can.
- Be sure to read the canning instructions on your canner before proceeding to the next steps and familiarize yourself with hot packing jars.
- Ladle the hot jam into a hot jar and leave 1/4 inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles.
- Wipe the jar rim with a clean towel.
- Center the lid on the jar, place the band on top, and tighten to fingertip-tight.
- Lower the jar into the water canner (water temperature should be about the temperature of the jam- I shoot for 180F-200F- too big of a fluctuation in temperature and you risk the jar shattering) and repeat with remaining jars.
- Process the jars for 10 minutes in boiling water, adjusting for altitude. (10 minutes assumes you’re at 0-1000 feet above sea level)
After the ten minutes is up, turn off the heat, remove the lid, and let the jars stand in the hot water for 5 minutes longer. - After 5 minutes of letting the jars stand, you can remove the jars from the hot water and let them cool on a flat dish towel for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, check to make sure the jars are properly sealed. If they’re sealed, you can remove the band, label, and store them!
Notes
- Lower sugar jams can have a slightly runnier consistency than full sugar jam recipes. It’s part of the reason I like to cook it the old fashioned way and make sure I get the consistency I’m looking for before canning.
- Lower sugar jams won’t keep as long as full sugar jams once opened, so be sure to use it within 2-3 weeks of opening.
- You can can in smaller 4 oz jars if you won’t use the whole 8 oz jar within 2-3 weeks after opening.
Happy canning!
Bridget
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