Texas Peach Jam (small batch)
It’s the middle of July here in Central Texas and the peach varieties are in full swing. The weather we’ve had during the peach growing season means there are fewer peach quantities and plenty of varieties. The fruit that is harvested now may be smaller, but they are mighty sweet. Dry winter, not enough cold hours, and a sweltering summer heat have made Texas peaches a hot commodity this time of year and I am here to buy, eat, and share as many peaches I can get my hands on.
A great way to preserve and highlight the wonderful flavor of Texas peaches is good old fashioned peach jam. A simple recipe, nothing fancy. Fresh peaches, sugar, and lemon is all you need to make an outstanding batch of fresh peach jam. I do advise using fresh peaches is a must, the flavor is unparalleled to conventionally grown or frozen peaches. If you only have frozen peaches to use, the cook time will be longer to allow for the extra water that develops during freezing to evaporate.
I purchased these peaches from New Braunfels Farmer’s Market. I almost had a lapse in judgement as I bought pounds of green tomatoes and micro greens, “I couldn’t possibly need more peaches, right?” Thankfully my good friend knocked some sense into me as we walked away from the stand, “You should buy the peaches.” Thank goodness for good friends, or I would have sorely missed out on some beautiful fruit!
Be sure to pick up local peaches direct from the farmer or from reputable farmers markets and support your local food communities when you can. Texas farmers work hard for us to enjoy the delicious fruits of their labor and I thank each one of them!
I Love Making Jam, You Should Too
-Quick- this recipe takes no time at all thanks to using a smaller amount of fresh peaches. You can have delicious jam in under 30 minutes.
-Simple-three ingredients is all you need to whip this recipe up.
-Flavor-nothing beats fresh peaches straight from the farm. The next best thing is to preserve that flavor in this peach jam. You can savor the bright sweet taste of summer anytime when you make this jam.
-Cookies-this jam is wonderful stuffed into or used as a filling for cookies. I will be making a spice oatmeal cookie that will feature this jam, brown sugar streusel, and a vanilla milk glaze for my Peach Crisp Cookie coming soon.
Ingredients You Need
-Fresh Peaches- if possible, use farm fresh peaches. You can use frozen peaches, but the flavor won’t be as intense and you will need to cook the jam much longer. I chop and pit my peaches and leave the skins on to really get some peach color infused into the final product.
-Sugar-granulated sugar works best.
-Lemon-I use half a lemon and toss the rind in to cook with the peaches. The lemon rind will help the jam to thicken up without the use of pectin.
Optional- Sometimes I will add in a stick or two of cinnamon if I want to make a spiced jam. Cinnamon compliments the flavor of peaches well and makes a very tasty jam.
Let’s Jam
First up, wash your peaches. Even if they are from the grocery store, peaches have a lot of fuzz that attracts dirt. I wash mine in the sink and give them a good rub between my hands to get all the fuzzies off.
I chop up the peaches in to roughly one-inch chunks then place them in a tall saucepan. I like chunks of peaches in my jam so I will leave some larger chunks of peaches for variety. You can also puree your peaches if you would like a smooth jam. I leave the skins on my peaches on, it will give the jam a beautiful bright orange color.
I add the sugar and half of the juice of a lemon to the pan, making sure to discard any seeds, then toss in the spent half of the lemon. The lemon will help the peach jam thicken and brighten the flavor of the jam. The jam won’t taste like lemon but rather have a more ‘fresh peach’ flavor.
I stir these ingredients together and let them sit on the cold stove in the pan for around 20 minutes or so. I will usually get a jar or two ready at this time. This jam makes enough for 2 4-ounce jars or 1 8-ounce jar. You can certainly skip this step if you want, the jam will come out lovely, nonetheless.
I turn the stove on medium high and let the fruit and sugar to reach a boil. It will foam and bubble quite a bit as it reaches temp, so I make sure to stay close to the stove to stir and watch it from over flowing the pan.
The jam will cook 15 minutes or so depending on how much juice the peaches had to begin with, juicier peaches may need more time to adequately gel. I test the jam on the back of a spoon, if it coats in a thick syrup without too many drips, it’s done. Alternatively, you can drop a few small drops of hot jam onto a small cold plate and turn the plate to make sure the jam will set thick. You want to turn the plate and the jam not run off or be too liquid. If it is still too runny, continue cooking until it thickens.
Carefully remove the half of lemon from the pan and discard. With a large spoon, carefully ladle hot jam into clean jars and screw top on tightly and invert. You can also pour into any glass container with lid if you don’t want to seal the jars. The jam will last in the fridge for a month, and if sealed up to a year.
Peach jam is wonderful on so many things and is one of my favorite jams to use in baking. I will be featuring this peach jam in my next blog post: Peach Crisp Cookie, a brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal cookie, stuffed with peach jam, vanilla chips, and topped with a toasted almond and lemon crumble. Extra vanilla drizzle is optional, don’t miss out!
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram and Facebook. New posts every Tuesday and Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Texas Peach Jam (small batch)
Ingredients
- ½ pound fresh peaches chopped and pitted
- ⅔ cups sugar
- ½ lemon
Instructions
- In a medium, deep saucepan combine chopped peaches and sugar.
- Squeeze half of lemon into the pot making sure to discard any seeds then toss in the leftover lemon half.
- Mix the peaches, sugar and lemon together and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes.
- Turn stove on to medium heat and slowly bring the peach mixture up to a boil. It will get quite bubbly at the beginning, just keep stirring so to make sure it doesn't boil over.
- When the mixture reaches a boil, turn heat down to medium low and continue to cook and stir until it has thickened.
- The peach jam is done when a clean spoon is evenly coated with jam or if you drop a few drops onto a plate and the drops are stiff and not runny.
- Discard lemon half then carefully spoon hot jam into clean jars and store in fridge for up to a month.
