Peach Jam

So I thought I'd show a little tutorial about making peach jam. I just made a batch and it was yummy if I may say so. 1 batch is about 8 half pints or 4 pints of jam. Here goes:

Wash your peaches and if they're not organic use some soap. Rinse well.

Blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes till their skins split open.

 Using a slotted spoon place them in prepared bowls of ice water. Then slip off the skins and discard them. Chop peaches into small pieces (I skipped this part because I was lazy. I will have very chunky jam.)

Mash peaches with a masher. 

Put jars and lids in pots and heat them. Don't boil the lids! It ruins the seals. The jars don't have to be completely submerged but make sure they are nice and hot all over.

Follow the directions on the package of pectin you bought and I mean this seriously. Each pectin is a little different about amounts. Stir in pectin and then stir till you hate stirring...er I mean till the jam boils. Don't stop stirring but add sugar. I like low sugar pectin and only put 1-1 1/2 cups of sugar in one batch. ( for comparison, regular pectin has about 6 cups of sugar a batch.) Stir some more till it boils again and starts looking a bit thicker and kind of glossy.

Ok this is where you need to move a bit quickly so things don't cool down too fast. Pull out a jar with tongs from your pot of hot water. Get out a jar funnel and pour the jam in leaving about this much head space.

Stick a knife in it to get out air bubbles and wipe the top so it will seal well.

Get out a lid with the fun magnetic lid lifter thingy you get in a canning pack ( it's my favorite canning tool!) and stick on a lid. Twist a ring on but not too tightly just fingertip tightly.

 

Cover your jars with a towel as you work because my neighbor told me this helps them seal and she is an awesome canner so I do it.