Canning Vanilla Peach Jam Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it safe to can white peach jam? ›

White-fleshed peaches have a natural pH above 4.6, which makes them a low-acid food; therefore, water bath or atmospheric steam canning will not destroy harmful bacteria in white peaches.

It will last several weeks in the fridge, but can be frozen for up to three months. Obviously you can use the jam anywhere you like jam — on toast, in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or on fresh biscuits.

To keep the fruit from turning brown, when you get a bowlful, sprinkle 1/4 cup lemon juice or Fruit-Fresh (which is just a mix of citric acid and vitamin C, perfectly natural). Then stir the peaches to make sure all the surfaces have been coated. I always use one of these, usually lemon juice.

Depending on the size of your peaches, you can get about 4 peaches per quart sized jar. The simple syrup recipe here should be enough for 3-4 jars.

White peaches don't have as much acidity making it difficult to preserve and cling peaches stick to the pit making them very difficult to separate so you'll likely lose a lot of good peach flesh in the process of trying to remove the pit.

Over extended periods of time, however, changes in color, flavor, texture and nutrient content of home-canned jams and jellies is inevitable. A typical full-sugar fruit jam or jelly should be safe to eat if the jar seal remains intact and the product shows no visible signs of spoilage from molds or yeasts.

Lemon is crucial to balancing those sweet flavors, but it also helps the pectin to firm up the jam. It can be added at the start of the cooking process or towards the end, but what must be taken into account is that adding liquids to the jam mixture will inevitably require the jam to cook for longer.

You don't have to, but proceed carefully. "If you are really anti-pectin, you can omit it, but you'll need to cook the jam longer. Doing so will remove most of the water content in order to get it to set up properly and in turn, will result in a smaller yield," adds Wynne.

Pectin Substitute

Cornstarch - Another plant-based thickening agent, cornstarch is a great substitute for pectin. Gelatin - For non-vegan menu items, you can substitute gelatin for pectin, but it will yield a different consistency.

Almost all fruit contains some acid, but the natural amount of acid can differ between fruit types, and even from batch to batch of the same type of fruit. To ensure that my jam has a proper acid level to gel properly and limit bacteria growth, I always add lemon juice to a jam mixture.

Why do peaches turn brown after canning? ›

What Causes Peaches To Brown? Peach can be eaten after washing it. But if you are slicing and freezing peaches or canning them, it is nearly impossible to prevent them from turning brown. The browning process kicks because when you cut a peach, a group of enzymes called polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) are activated.

It may occur dur- ing the cooking process, or it may not be detectable until some weeks after canning and then continue in the can. It is not di- rectly associated with advanced maturity or excessive cooking, although these two factors can cause the fruit to be soft, and are confusing in borderline cases.

Clingstone. The pretty yellow peach flesh "clings" to the stone, and therefore the name. These are the earliest peaches to come in. Distinguished by their juiciness and sweet peach flavor, they lend themselves very well to jams, preserves and canning.

Freezing peaches is a little easier and quicker and produces wonderfully sweet and delicious peaches to put in your freezer. Canning peaches produces jars of peeled and halved peaches for your pleasure.

Mix citric acid with a 1/4 of a cup of water, coat peaches to prevent darkening. Pack slices into jars, almost to the top. Bring the juice to a boil, add peach skins and pits if desired, simmer for a few minutes. Remove skins and pits and discard.

CAUTION: Do not can white-flesh peaches.

The natural pH of some white peaches can exceed 4.6, making them a low-acid food for canning purposes. Currently, there is no low-acid pressure process available for white-flesh peaches nor a researched acidification procedure for safe boiling water canning.

Usually that thin, white film is jelled foam. If your fruit was foamy in the sauce pan and you didn't skim the foam off, or if your mixture had a lot of air in it and you didn't do air releasing before putting the jam in the jars, the foam or tiny air bubbles rise to the top of the jar and form that white film.

Raw Pack For Canning Peaches

Raw packing simply means placing the peeled peaches in the jars without pre-cooking them, filling the jars with hot syrup, and processing them in the canner. If you are canning your peaches without additional added sugar (sugar, honey, fruit juice), you must hot pack the fruit.

You don't have to blanch peaches but it does make peeling peaches much easier for canning! When you blanch fruit correctly it does not cook at all. Fill a large soup pot with water and bring it to a boil. Blanch or scald the peaches by dipping them into the hot water for 30 seconds to 1 minute.