There is something about jams and jellies made at home with fresh ingredients that just can’t be beat. I had never tried to make any myself since I wasn’t very knowledgeable and, to be honest, just a little scared of using a pressure canner. When I found this freezer jam recipe over at Southern Plate, I thought that it might just be doable.
There is a peach tree growing on a farm owned by my in-laws, and for some reason it produced a lot of peaches during this odd growing season. My FIL mentioned that he would like some “preserves” so I went looking for a recipe and found the one I mentioned above. This was so easy! Before I started the process, I sanitized the jars by using the sanitizing cycle on my dishwasher. So simple!
2 lbs. peaches (enough to make about 3 cups mashed peaches)
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 box Sure Jell
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Peel, pit and dice peaches. Mash these with a potato masher or fork. The potato masher is a lot faster and easier. Leave a few small chunks. Pour the sugar in the mashed peaches and stir until sugar is dissolved.
In a medium sauce pot, place 3/4 cup water and add the Sure Jell. Bring this to a boil while stirring constantly. Boil for one minute then pour this into the fruit mixture. Stir well until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour into the sanitized jars making sure to leave about 1 inch of empty space at the top. Clean the edges of the jars so the lids will not stick to them. Place the lids on the jars and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Then put what you are going to use soon in the fridge and freeze the rest. This jam will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks and in the freezer for 1 year.
This had the most awesome sweet peach flavor I have ever tasted. The peaches that I used were white peaches so mine didn’t have that bright vibrant peach color, but the flavor was out of this world.
Picture Perfect Cooking 