Homemade Peach Jam

Making jam is a little hard at first, but it gets easier with practice. With allergic little ones homemade jam is the best way to make sure it is not made with corn syrup or other harsh ingredients.

Homemade Peach Jam

Instructions.
Things You'll Need:
-5 pounds of fresh peaches (approximately one dozen peaches)
-5 cups of sugar
-3 teaspoons of lime or lemon juice
canning jars and lids
-1 box Pectin (it's a natural product, made from apples and available at grocery stores (season - spring through late summer) and local "big box" stores. It usually goes for about $2.00 to $2.50 per box.

Step by step HOW to do this;
1.WASH, PEEL, DE-PIT, and FINELY CHOP THE PEACHES: Wash the peaches. Remove the skins and pits. To have quality jam you must start with quality fruit. Remove any portion of the fruit that is spoiled. Finely chop the peaches into small pieces and mix in the sugar and lemon or lime juice. Set aside.

2. Sterilizing the canning jars, lids, and rims in boiling water. STERILIZE: Wash the canning jars, lids, and bands in hot soapy water. Rinse with hot water. Boil the jars and lids in water for 10 minutes. Carefully remove them from the water using a jar remover or a pair of tongs. Set them on a cookie sheet to cool while you cook the jam.

3 COOK: Cook the peaches and box of pectin in a large pot until they reach a rolling boil. Stir frequently to avoid scorching. Add sugar all at once and stir continuously untill it reaches a rolling boil again. ( A rolling boil is when the mixture bubbles even when you are stirring it.) When the mixture reaches a rolling boil, set timer for 1 minute and stir like crazy as it may boil over. Remove from heat when the 1 minute is up.

4.FILL THE JARS: Ladle the mixture into the sterilized canning jars. Fill the jars leaving half of an inch of headspace at the top. Wipe jam off the rims of the jars. Place the lids on the jars and seal with the screw bands.

6 KNOW YOUR ELEVATION. Processing time for canning depends on your elevation. If you are at 1 to 1,000 feet the processing time will be five minutes. If you are at 1,001 - 6,000 feet the processing time will be 10 minutes. If you are above 6,000 feet the processing time will be 15 minutes.

7 Filled canning jars in a hot water canner.PROCESS: Unless you have a canner you will seal the jars by a water bath method. Fill a large pan (you'll need one with a lid) with water to the half way mark. Put a rack in the bottom of the pan -- a round cookie cooling sheet works perfectly. Heat the water to a boil. Carefully lower the jars into the pan of boiling water. One to two inches of water should cover the jars. If too much water has boiled away add more boiling water to the pan. Leave the jars in boiling water for 5, 10, or 15 minutes, according to step 6 above. Turn off the heat. Remove the lid from the pan. Wait five minutes then carefully remove the jars and put them on a cooling rack.

8 TEST: While the jars are cooling you may hear a "ping" sound. That is an indication that the jars have sealed properly. If you don't hear the sound you can always test the jars after they have cooled. Take a look at the lid. It should be curved down. Press on the center of the lid. It should not move if the jar sealed. Finally, you can test the seal by trying to lift the lid with your fingers. Remove the band first then gently try to lift the lid. If the lids do not come up then you have properly sealed the jars. If you have a jar or two that did not seal repeat Step 7 to re-process or simply store that jar in your refrigerator.

9 Freshly canned jar of peach jam and a taste on a spoon. Yum! ENJOY!