Amongst all the homemade jam recipes on the blog, I’ll have to confess this peach jam without pectin took my heart. It has such a mellow sweet and balanced taste, I almost fell in love with it. This peach jam without pectin is thick and spreadable.
A peach jam without pectin is cooked peach preserve or spread that can be great on your toast as well and it is a great way to preserve the fruit that has a short season.
Though without skin the jam has a fruity taste like papaya jam rather than an intense peach flavor.
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More summer jams worth making are mango jam, cherry jam, and strawberry jam.
Why make this jam?
Macerating: Maceration is soaking fruit in sugar that helps draw out the fluid from the fruit. It reduces cooking time and helps reach the gel stage quickly without too much cooking. So you get a richer and less stewed taste.
Few ingredients: It is a few ingredients and a simple jam recipe that is great if you are new to jam making.
Small batch: A small-batch jam recipe makes it easy to store the jam in the fridge or freezer. This means you can skip canning which gets complicated for juvenile chefs.
Ingredients
Peaches
This is only three ingredients in peach jam and the main ingredient is peach. So look for the best-tasting peach variety that has rich flavors.
Also, make sure to use fully ripened peaches with yellow flesh. The peaches with white flesh lack pectin. You can find more information about a variety of peaches here.
Low-sugar Jam
You can't omit sugar completely in a pectin-free jam as sugar helps it gel and also helps preservation. But you can reduce it certainly and a lot less than commercial jams.
I used 1.5 cups for 2 pounds of jam which is moderately sweet and gels very well. You can go as high as 2 cups of sugar for 2 pounds of peach. Use at least 1.25 cups for 2 pounds so the jam gels easily.
I recommend starting will less sugar, doing a taste test, and adding more as per taste. If the fruit is naturally very sweet you may go low on sugar.
Lemon helps add flavor to the jam as well as helps activate the natural pectin in the jam.
How to make it?
Find a pictorial step-by-step of how to make Peach jam without Pectin below with pro tips.
- Skinning peaches for jam is an optional and personal choice. (If you consider blending the jam, you can skip this step. Peach skin has more color and flavor than flesh like plum. Just make sure to soak peaches for a few minutes and wash them throughly with warm water.) If you wish to skin peaches, you can simply peel the peaches with a knife. But blanching is the easiest way if you have a large number of peaches. Here's how to blanch. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add peaches and boil for 1-2 minutes. Then transfer to cold water.
- Now the skin will easily slip off the flesh. Deseed the peaches and chop them roughly.
- Transfer peaches in the thick and wide-based pot. Add sugar and lemon juice. Rest peaches for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge to macerate. This helps the setting of the jam. (Resting is optional but recommended.)
- Cook jam for 15 minutes on medium-low heat until soft.
Pro tip: Lemon juice adds both flavor and helps to set the jam. Avoid adding extra lemon as peaches have a mild flavor and lemon can get over-powering. See Low Sugar Jam above for details of sugar.
- Mash the peaches for a pulpy jam or blend it for a smooth consistency.
- When you see the jam has thickened, remove the jam from heat. Wait for a minute. Now make a line with the spatula. If the line stays and your jam is ready.
- Another more accurate way to check is to keep 2 plates in the freezer to chill. Transfer a little jam to the cold plate and that will show you the consistency of the finished jam. If it is thick and holds its shape. Jam is ready. If not continue to cook for a few more minutes.
- Transfer hot jam to clean dry jars. Let the jam cool completely before placing the lids. If storing jam in a fridge or freezer, sterilization of jars or canning is not needed.
Ideas to use Jam
Peach jam without pectin is nothing but peach preserve with more sugar and thicker consistency. As the peach season is short, this jam allows for enjoying peaches later in the summer.
- Spread it on toast or on the biscuit.
- Make a peach sauce to drizzle on ice cream or desserts.
- Add it to peach ice cream, just reduce sugar or condensed milk in ice cream to adjust sweetness.
- Make a peach drink of peach lemonade.
- If you use less sugar in jam you can also add this to pie fillings.
- You can enjoy this peach jam spoon after spoon on its own.
- Use it to make peach glaze for your cakes.
Tips
If you find prepping to be time-consuming. You can prep a night ahead by skinning and chopping peaches. Combine all ingredients in a pot and store them in the fridge. Then plan to cook the next day when you some work in the kitchen. The peach jam recipe without pectin has less active time but it requires occasional stirring so this is a great way to reduce active cooking time.
If you consider making a 2x or 3x batch of the recipe, the cooking time will increase. Cook on lower heat to be safe and avoid caramelizing sugar.
Variations
I love to experiment and try new ways of making and that's what I encourage in my readers. Here's what else can be changed in this homemade peach jam recipe.
- You can add 1 apple to the peach jam. Green apples like granny smith or slightly under-ripened greenish apples are high in pectin. Adding an apple can add more depth to the jam as well as help it set more firmly.
- If you like aromatic jam, cinnamon or vanilla beans can add that depth of flavor.
Frequently Asked questions
Yes! this is a freezer jam and you can divide the jam into smaller jars. Keep 1 jar in the fridge and freeze the rest. The freezer peach jam will last for a year while you can store it in the fridge for 3 months. Avoid storing at room temperature in the pantry.
If you plan to freeze the jam or if you are storing it in the fridge. You can skip the sterilization process. But make sure to fill hot jam in a clean dry jar. Also, let the jam come to room temperature before closing the lid to avoid contamination due to condensation.
I prefer to remove the skin, as my kids don't like it. But you can always keep the skin that has more flavor, color, and fiber. Consider blending jam that will make it smooth.
I personally prefer the fleshy texture of homemade peach jam. If you like smoother consistency or if you are adding peaches with skin in the jam. Blending can help you get a smooth and even texture.
Peach does have pectin but they are low in pectin. With little care and attention to detail, you can gel a peach jam without pectin too.
Hungry for jams? Check these!
If you try this recipe, I'd LOVE to hear your feedback in the comments. Your 5-ratings motivate me to do my best. Stay connected for more recipes and videos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube.
📖 Recipe
Peach Jam Recipe without Pectin
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (1100 g) peach
- 1½ cups sugar, use 1¼ cup for low sugar jam.
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Keep 2 plates in freezer for cold-plate test.
Prepping peaches
- To peel, peaches bring a large pot of water to boil. Add peaches and boil for 1-2 minutes. Then transfer to cold water. Peel skin easily off the flesh. Deseed the peaches and chop them roughly. Pro tip: You can peel peaches with a knife. Skinning peaches is optional, you simply chop peaches with skin too if blending the jam.
Making Jam
- Transfer all ingredients to a thick bottomed and wide-based pot. Combine and rest for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge (macerate). This resting step is optional but helps the better setting of the jam.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes on medium flame until soft.
- Then mash peaches with a potato masher. Cook further on slow heat for about ten minutes until thick. Protip: you can blend peaches and add cinnamon or vanilla too for more flavor.
- To test consistency put a large drop of jam on a cold plate. Wait for 30 secs to cool then hold the plate horizontally. If the jam is flowing through the plate immediately continue cooking for 5 more minutes. And if it sets then stop cooking. Jam is ready.
- Then ladle the hot jam to clean dry jars. Let the jam cool completely to room temperature then place the lids. Store jam in the fridge or freezer. See notes for storage and sterilization instructions.
Susan Ormbrek says
Great recipe and instructions. Used same amount of orange juice as the lemon juice in the recipe and it turned out amazing. It did take more than an hour to cook down, due I'm sure in part to keeping it at the low side of medium to prevent burning. Thank you for a great pectin free recipe!
Mariam Sodawater says
Thank you so much for the detailed review. Yeah... recipe timing can vary a bit depending on the width of pot and heat. So relying on visual signs is the best way to go. Switching lemon juice to orange is also a great idea. You're most welcome. Keep coming!
Becca says
This looks so lovely - thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Just wanted to alert you to a typo, in here… “You can't omit sugar completely in a pectin-free jam *ass* sugar helps it gel and also helps preservation.” Feel free to delete (not approve) my comment!
Mariam Sodawater says
You guys are so amazing, thanks for pointing it out!