Peach Jam

It’s April now.  Summer left us and it took stonefruit season with it.  While there are still trays of peaches and nectarines around supermarkets, the peak of the season was around Christmas and New Year.

You may have seen my post on Apricot Jam back in January.  This was one of my favourite jams; it had such a vibrant and distinctive flavour.  My good results from the apricot jam made me curious as to whether peach jam would work out as well. 

While picking up some groceries at Harris Farm one Sunday morning, I saw that trays of peaches were on special, so I decided to buy a tray and lug it home.  The peaches reached peak ripeness midweek, so after work I got into my jam making groove. 

The jam making process for peaches is slightly more involved than with apricot jam:  you have to peel all of the peaches, but you don’t need to peel the apricots!  I’m told that some people can’t stand the feeling of peach skin – the furry, slightly coarse, almost fine hair-like surface can give people the heebie jeebies. If this is you, apologies for the graphic description, and you may want to try one of my other, less fuzzy recipes.

Plunging the peaches in boiling water for about 10 seconds, loosens the skin and makes the peeling relatively easy. 

Peach Jam Recipe

What you need:

• 2kg of ripe peaches;
• 1300g of caster sugar;
• the juice of 1 lemon.

The jam making:

1. Slice a small cross at the base of each peach.  The cross doesn’t need to be too deep.  
2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and then plunge the peaches in the water for ten seconds. 
3. Peel the peaches once they have cooled down.  The skin should come away at the cross and should make peeling easy. 
4. Cut the peaches into small pieces and remove the stones.  (You can set these stones aside to make some ratafia, or put them in with the jam to add extra pectin).
5. Place the chopped peaches into a pot and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the peaches start to soften.
6. Pour in the sugar and the lemon juice and stir until dissolved.
7. Keep stirring the jam, ensuring that it doesn’t burn or stick to the sides or bottom. 
8. Reduce until the mixture has reached a jam-like consistency.