Blushing Peach Jam
My husband, son and I live on 10 acres where we tend a large garden and acres of pumpkins. We love this jam so much we are going to start growing raspberries, too.
My husband, son and I live on 10 acres where we tend a large garden and acres of pumpkins. We love this jam so much we are going to start growing raspberries, too.
- Carbohydrate 77.1388125 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 2.849315 g
- Fiber 23.49 g
- Protein 7.502315 g
- Saturated Fat 0.1417925 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (1755g)
- Sodium 390683.148372891 mg
- Sugar 53.6488125 g
- Trans Fat 0.862509 g
- Calories 324 calories
Step-by-step
- In a Dutch oven, combine the peaches, raspberries and lemon juice.
- Stir in sugar.
- Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.
- Stir in pectin; return to a full rolling boil.
- Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat; skim off foam.
- Add extract.
- Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace.
- Wipe rims and adjust lids.
- Process for 5 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
Bright amber peach preserves kissed with deep crimson raspberry yield a translucent, soft-set spread that balances stone fruit sweetness against sharp berry acidity. Crafting this preserve requires strict adherence to sugar ratios because fruit pectin relies on a specific concentration of sugar and acid to form a proper gel network. Altering the quantity of sugar by more than a few tablespoons without using a low-sugar pectin variant will result in a runny liquid rather than a spreadable jam. Peaches inherently possess low natural acidity and moderate pectin content, which is why bottled lemon juice is non-negotiable for safety and gelling performance. Freshly squeezed lemon juice fluctuates in pH, whereas standardized bottled juice ensures the acidity level drops below 4.6, preventing bacterial survival during the 5-minute boiling-water bath.
When fresh raspberries are unavailable or out of season, frozen unsweetened berries serve as a direct one-to-one volumetric replacement provided they are fully thawed and drained of excess liquid first. Excess water content from improperly drained fruit will dilute the sugar-to-liquid ratio, subsequently inhibiting the pectin from binding. Almond extract provides a subtle, nutty undertone that amplifies the benzaldehyde compounds naturally found in peach pits, though it must be stirred in after removing the pot from the heat source to prevent the volatile aromatics from evaporating entirely during the rapid boil.
Processing preserves in a boiling-water canner demands precise equipment, specifically a deep stockpot fitted with a wire rack that keeps jars at least one inch off the bottom to ensure uniform heat circulation around the glass. Standard pint jars require precisely one-quarter inch of headspace to allow for thermal expansion during processing without compromising the vacuum seal as the contents cool. Jars processed at elevations exceeding 1,000 feet require an additional minute of boiling time for every thousand feet of elevation gain to compensate for lower atmospheric pressure and reduced boiling points.
