By Alison Roman
- Total Time
- About 1 hour 15 minutes, plus macerating
- Rating
- 5(325)
- Notes
- Read community notes
When it comes to summertime stone fruit, pies are often the first thing to come to mind, but jam made with peaches, plums and apricots is just as delicious and lasts much longer. Naturally rich in pectin and high in acidity, these fruits make for jam with rich textures and the best balance of sweet and tart. When choosing your fruit, look for pieces that are just ripe rather than overly ripe, as stone fruit tends to lose pectin and acidity the older it gets.
Learn: How to Make Jam
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Ingredients
Yield:About 4 cups (4 8-ounce jars)
- 4½pounds/2 kilograms peaches, nectarines, plums or apricots, pitted, sliced or cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2¾cups/550 grams granulated sugar
- 3tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice (from about 2 lemons or limes)
- Add-ins (optional, see note)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Toss fruit and sugar together in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Let sit for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight, tossing periodically to coat and to dissolve the sugar. (This will help coax the juices out of the fruit.)
Step
2
Place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. (You’ll use this later.)
Step
3
Bring the fruit to a strong simmer over medium heat until the skins burst and the juices start to boil, 10 to 15 minutes. If using a vanilla bean as an add-in, put it in the pot now.
Step
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Increase the heat to medium–high. Cook the jam, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula at first and more frequently as juices thicken until most of the liquid has evaporated and the fruit has begun to break down, about 25 to 35 minutes. How much it breaks down will depend on the type of fruit and how ripe it is. (For example, peaches are likely to retain their shape, while plums and apricots will break down almost entirely.)
Step
5
As the jam cooks, the liquid reduces, the sugars thicken and the natural pectins activate. You’ll notice the liquid go from a rapid, rolling boil with smaller bubbles to a slow, thick, tarlike boil with larger bubbles. This is the stage at which it’s most important to stir constantly along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching and sticking. (Sugar is heavier than water and will concentrate there, increasing the chance that the fruit will burn.) It’s also the stage at which splattering may occur, so take care in stirring.
Step
6
When the jam reaches a slow, thick boil, add lemon juice and any of the add-ins (see note). Continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam has returned to its previously thickened state, about another 5 minutes. To test the consistency, spoon a bit of jam onto the chilled plate, return it to the refrigerator and chill for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through it: It should hold its shape on either side without appearing watery or runny. If it’s not there yet, cook it a few minutes more.
Step
7
Remove from heat, and pick out vanilla bean, if you added it earlier. Divide between jars, leaving ¼ inch of space at the top of the jar, and seal immediately. Can the jams (see our How to Make Jam guide for more instruction), or store in the refrigerator, using them up within a couple of weeks.
- To elevate your jam, consider the following add-ins: For peaches or nectarines, add in 1 vanilla bean, split with seeds scraped; ½ teaspoon ground cardamom; or 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger. For plums, add 1 teaspoon rose water or 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. For apricot, add ¾ teaspoon almond extract or 1 vanilla bean, split with seeds scraped.
Ratings
5
out of 5
325
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Michael Weber
Other recipes call for removing the skin from peaches. Can you really leave it on?
Lan Chi
After the jam is put in the jar and seal, do I have to do anything else ? And where should the jars be stored and how long can they be stored for ?
Lucy
I've always understood that a 55% ratio of sugar to fruit is the absolute minimum needed to preserve the fruit. This recipe calls for around 27% -- which is great news, but is that really enough? The berry jam recipe calls for even less, I think it's under 20%. I would love to use less sugar but my expert jam-making friends claim that I already don't use enough.
Lucy
This is an interesting blog dealing with the sugar-to-fruit ratio, and how sugar affects the jam's shelf life.
http://foodinjars.com/2015/02/canning-101-can-reduce-sugar/
Chris
I wondered about that too and I left them on. Most of them just melted into the jam. The little bits that remained added to the texture.
If you want to make sure they dissolve, cut your fruit smaller than the recommended one-inch cubes.
Jody Demo
You either have to keep them refrigerated or boil them for 10 minutes with water covering the jar tops.
Carajo
Note to self: Add 3 jalapeños, chopped, seeds removed from 2 and 1 chopped w/seeds. Also added 1 fresh sweet red pimento pepper. Falsetto voice "awesome".
Pam
After they cool on a wire rack, check to ensure that the lids are sealed (they should be indented in the center and not pop up), then carefully remove the rings. I always wash and dry the jars before storing without rings in a cool dark place. This way there's no residual jam on the jars that gets trapped between lid and ring to cause mold.
at
This is excellent! Weighed the peaches with pits - not sure if this was right but it worked out. Made as directed using two of the optional add-ins together; vanilla + cardamom. Wasn't clear if I should discard the vanilla seeds after scraping them from the pod or if they should be thrown in the jam as well. I discarded the seeds since sometimes vanilla can overpower other flavors. I'm at altitude (~5400 ft) so everything took a bit longer than was estimated here but no surprise there.
paloaltogirl
Unpopular opinion: it is not necessary to do the water bath in a canner. Just make sure your jars are really hot and the jam has just come off the boil. Flip them upside down after filling. The lids will go pop and they are sealed. There is too much sugar in jam to allow spoilage as long as they are sealed. Cooks in England and Ireland do it this way; in fact, sometimes they don’t even use metal lids and use waxed paper circles—paper melts a bit but firms up and forms a seal.
Claire
Less sugar is not only better for health reasons, but I think one can taste the fruit better. Also, most of the vitamins are on the skin of the fruit (or veggie). Memories of my Mother: every summer we would go to the country, where we rode bicycles kept at the cabins to pick buckets of fat, ripe blackberries. We would make jam which smelled heavenly simmering on the stove, straining it through cheesecloth.
She would boil the jars to seal them after we filled them.
trexgirl
Made three batches of this today with sweet, juicy, summer peaches. Got 20 8 oz jars, all popped, all DELICIOUS! Followed the recipe and instructions verbatim, no add ins and I could not be happier. I also leveraged the instructions on the box that had the jars in them; very helpful. Want to go buy more summer fruit and can some more jam!!
Jenna
I’ve used this recipe for peaches, apricots, plums and nectarines. I make enough to last all year. It’s a great recipe, followed exactly. Alternatively, you can reduce the sugar to 450 grams per 5 lb fruit and get great results. Jam lasts all year at this ratio (doesn’t spoil). But, do boil for 10 minutes and be sure the lids pop. Although it’s tempting, don’t skip the step in which the fruit sits in the sugar before cooking, and don’t skip the lemon at the end.
Kat
Wow, this worked great! I needed plum jam for a recipe and couldn’t find it in a store. I added lemon, black pepper and balsamic vinegar at the end. Also cut recipe down to 8 plums (610 grams). It’s delicious!
Kymore
This recipe is on repeat—easy and wonderful flavor.
Sanctuary Baking 501c3
Made as directed and it is superb!
Claire Schneider
I combined plums and peaches and reduced the sugar by one cup because I prefer jams that are less sweet. I'll definitely make it again!
Sharon B
Be careful reducing the sugar in jam if you're canning it. The sugar is there to keep you safe.s
Kymore
Five Stars! Easy and delicious. The addition of Vanilla and Lemon was enough for us to bring out the flavor of the peaches and give it a warm and bright flavor.
Jill
Made with plumcots that I accidentally over-ordered from Fresh Direct. Thought I was ordering four, but ordered four lbs. Wonderful mistake! Delicious with roasted pork with onions over rice.
Jan Sea
Yes, agree with Palo Alto girl - hot jars, hot jam, ensure a clean, good seal ring, and flip the jars upside down. Stanford Mothers Club (and now fathers too) have been making apricot jam with this type of simple lemon-sugar recipe and just flipping the jars—for decades!!
Barbara Snider
Please peel fruit. Especially peaches.
Harrison
What are some popular recipes or dishes that include stone fruit jam?
GreenSageSJ
We grill sourdough bread and serve various cheeses (burrata or bleu cheese and goat cheese) and some toasted almonds or walnuts with a small dish of peach or plum jam. You can also use it as a glaze for grilled or roasted chicken.
Jenna
I’ve used this recipe for peaches, apricots, plums and nectarines. I make enough to last all year. It’s a great recipe, followed exactly. Alternatively, you can reduce the sugar to 450 grams per 5 lb fruit and get great results. Jam lasts all year at this ratio (doesn’t spoil). But, do boil for 10 minutes and be sure the lids pop. Although it’s tempting, don’t skip the step in which the fruit sits in the sugar before cooking, and don’t skip the lemon at the end.
carolyn
I’ve made this recipe with peaches several times and this year I tried it with apricots. I always use 2 cups of sugar instead of 2 3/4. I’ve tried other people’s peach and apricot jam and I like this recipe the best. I process for 15 minutes so I can store year round.
Antipodeanaut
Hi does any one have Instant Pot tips for doing a jam?
Peter
Used this recipe with masala fruit (monkey fruit or Strychnos cocculoides), about four ripe fruits yielded 2 lbs of pulp + seeds, final product was exactly four 4oz ball jars of jam. However, to get the pulp separated from the seeds, had to add 2C of water and repeatedly strain through a collander to extract the juice/pulp, then boil until thick. There may be a better way to separate the pulp from the seeds, but this worked for me. Added vanilla and lots of lemon.
Barb
As a first time jam or jelly maker, I really appreciated this recipe and all of the comments. I decided to follow it straight and it turned out well. Perhaps because I only left the sugar on the peaches for 45 minutes before cooking, The peaches stayed chunky like in the photo. Chunky was very nice but I would have liked it a little more broken down so next time would love the sugar / peach concoction for several hours.
Barb
I’m a first timer to jam! I like the simplicity of the recipe and can’t wait to taste it! Thanks for the recipe and the notes.
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