This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
My mom makes the most amazing fruit preserves. We enjoy her garden fruit all year long this way. This peach preserves recipe takes a couple days; a longer process than most of the peach preserve recipes I’ve seen online but its worth the wait. It’s not watery like most of the recipes that rush the process.
This isn’t speed dating. You’ll get to know your peaches over a couple days and and be rewarded with some mighty fine preserves. If you are thinking about Christmas already (as I am), you can make preserves now, slap a label on in December and give them away as gifts to neighbors, co-workers, nursing directors (wink, wink) – I guess this means I can’t eat all of them myself.
Ingredients for Peach Preserves:
11 lbs peaches, rinsed (about 8 lbs after peeling and pitting)
4 cups granulated sugar, or more added to taste
1/2 cup lemon juice (from 3-4 large lemons)
What you will need:
- 5-6 pint-sized jars with lids. I purchased them at Walmart.
- Large Stock Pot (20Qt+) with Rack (or purchase a canner)
- Jar lifter to safely transfer the jars
How to Make Peach Preserves / Peach Jam:
To blanch the peaches:
1. Fill 2/3 of a large soup pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add peaches for 30 -45 seconds, then remove with slotted spoon or this OXO strainer
2. Peel the skin (most of them peeled easily by hand, but there were a stubborn few that required a knife), cut the peaches into quarters and remove pits.
Cooking the Preserves:
1. Place all peeled peaches in a large soup pot and squeeze in lemon juice. Drizzle well with 2 cups sugar, toss and drizzle again with the remaining 1.5-2 cups so the sugar reaches all the peaches. Here’s where you need to use your judgement.
If your peaches are very sweet, you may only need 3 1/2 cups of sugar total. You can add more sugar to taste while its cooking, so don’t panic at this step. You’ll do great!
2. Let peaches sit at room temp with the sugar for about 30min -1 hour, or until sugar is dissolved.
3. Place the pot over the stove uncovered and bring to a light boil, stirring to prevent scorching. Make sure if you see a light boil to stir because the whole pot may not be boiling, just the center. If it stops boiling after you stir it, continue boiling.
Once the whole pot is at a light boil, simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand uncovered until it is just warm to the touch or reaches room temp.
4. As soon as it cools, repeat step 3. You will bring it to a light boil a total of 5 times. This is why it takes 2 days to make. It’s really easy though. Definitely not rocket science to bring a pot to a boil and give it a few stirs :D.
You can go to work and come home then return it to a boil; there’s no “set” time that you need to be reboiling it. If 2 days doesn’t work for you, by all means, take 3 days. Preserves have plenty of sugar so they won’t spoil at room temp if you leave it on the counter overnight. If you want the preserves to have an even thicker consistency, you can boil it 6 times if you wish.
(Note: the fifth time you boil, bring it to a boil over a little lower heat and stir a few extra times to prevent scorching. Also, it thickens more as it cools.)
5. The last time you bring it to a boil you will want to transfer it to sterilized jars while it’s boiling hot.
To sterilize the jars:
- To sterilize your clean jars: wash them and let them dry in the oven at 215 for about 20 min or until completely dry. Boil the lids 5 min.
2. Transfer your boiling hot preserves to the jars using a glass measuring cup and a funnel (least messy method) leaving about 1/2″ space.
3. Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don’t over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
4. Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot with jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid – it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate preserves and enjoy within 3 months.
Tada!! You’ll make it and think “hey that wasn’t so bad.” Well, that’s what I thought the first time I made them.
Current Canning Guidelines:
Recipe updated in 2019 to reflect new canning standards. Previously we used the oven method. You can get up to date on the most recent canning guidelines here. It’s a great resource to answer frequently asked canning questions.
Country Peach Preserves
Ingredients
Peach Preserves Ingredients:
- 11 lbs peaches, rinsed
- 4 cups granulated sugar, or more to taste
- 1/2 cup lemon juice, from 3-4 large lemons
What you will need:
- 5-6 pint-sized jars with lids
Instructions
To blanch the peaches:
- Fill 2/3 of a large soup pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add peaches for 30 -45 seconds, then remove with slotted spoon and drain the pot. Remove peaches immediately to a large bowl of cold water.
- Peel the skin, cut the peaches into quarters and remove pits.
Cooking the Preserves:
- Place all peeled peaches in a large soup pot and squeeze in lemon juice. Drizzle well with 2 cups sugar, toss and drizzle again with the remaining 1.5-2 cups so the sugar reaches all the peaches. If peaches are very sweet, you may only need 3 1/2 cups of sugar total. Add more sugar to taste while its cooking.
- Let peaches sit at room temp with the sugar for about 30 min -1 hour, or until sugar is dissolved.
- Place the pot over the stove uncovered and bring to a light boil, stirring to prevent scorching. Once the whole pot is at a light boil, simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand uncovered until it is just warm to the touch or reaches room temp.
- As soon as it cools, repeat step 3. You will bring it to a light boil a total of 5 times. Preserves have plenty of sugar so they won't spoil at room temp if you leave it on the counter overnight. If you want the preserves to have an even thicker consistency, you can boil it 6 times if you wish. (Note: the fifth time you boil, bring it to a boil over a little lower heat and stir a few extra times to prevent scorching. Also, it thickens more as it cools.)
- The last time you bring it to a boil you will want to transfer it to sterilized jars while it's boiling hot.
To sterilize the jars: wash them and let them dry in the oven at 215 for about 20 min or until completely dry. Boil the lids 5 min.
- Transfer your boiling hot preserves to the jars using a glass measuring cup and a funnel (least messy method) leaving about 1/2″ space.
- Screw the lids on enough to keep a tight seal in place but don't over-tighten them since air bubbles need to be able to escape.
- Place packed cans into the canning pot and cover with 1-2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and process 15 minutes. Remove from the pot with jar lifter and leave at room temperature undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a pop when the jars fully seal. After 24 hours, check that the seal has formed by pushing down on the center of the lid - it should not move at all. If the seal does not form, refrigerate preserves and enjoy within 3 months.
Filed Under
Signs of Spoiled Canned Food:
With any type of canning, we follow this advice: “When in doubt, throw it out”
Discard and do not eat or taste any canned food if you notice any of the following:
- the jar is leaking, bulging, or swollen
- the jar looks damaged, cracked, or abnormal
- the jar spurts foam or liquid upon opening
- the canned food is discolored, moldy, mushy, slimy, or smells bad
Hi, do you think this recipe can be used for fuyu persimmons ? They are very sweet and ripped.
Hi Nina, that is a great question. I honestly have not tried that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Hi Gloria, I have all my peaches prepared, come to find out I only have limes in the house. Can I use a lime instead? Sure hope so!!!! Thank you, looks like a great recipe.
Hi Olive, I haven’t tested that to advise, it may alter the flavor to a more bitter taste but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Hi,
Can you tell me if the final product will be thick enough to use as a cake filling? Its hard to tell from the pictures how thick it is and I need it pretty thick so there’s not much moisture going into the cake layers making them soggy. Thanks! It looks delicious!
Hi Gloria, I would suggest pureeing it and bringing to a light boil an extra time, stirring frequently to get it just a little thicker for a cake filling and it should work well.
I added a couple sprigs of rosemary to a batch of the preserves, removing it before canning. Very yummy!
I’ve also played with reducing the sugar as my peaches were very ripe. Have had no issues.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I ran a batch fresh picked from a volunteer peach tree, 24 pounds total.
I used 6.5 cups of sugar total.
It was my goal to boil/ simmer the batch 6 times prior to canning however my timing was off which forced me to boil/ simmer for a seventh time.
Overall, I noticed roughly a 50% reduction in overall preserves volume from start to finish of the boil/ simmer process.
In the end. the preserves came out very well, I have 16 12 ounce jars full of preserves.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Perfect, thank you for sharing! I planned on ordering a 1/2 bushel from The Peach Truck this year (25 lbs.) and was wondering around how many pints I will get – seems like around 14-15
It’s a great recipe do you think I can use apples for the same recipe??thanks
Hi Nina, I haven’t tested that to advise but here is what one of our readers wrote “Ok, so I had my aunt help me to make apple spread(jam/jelly?), and we did it in one afternoon, due to the fact that she said since the apples didn’t produce much juice at all and we put them through the food processor, so they were like pea sized before cooking them. And because my aunt was kinda in charge of the cooking and I was the observer, she cooked the apples first until there was no juice left at all and they were beginning to thicken (about 1.5-2 hours, stirring often), it was only then she put in the lemon juice and the sugar. She measured about 1qt of sugar (unfortunately I can’t tell you to how much apples, it was total of 3 qt of jam we got to can). So it’s not exactly following your recipe, but I’m just letting you know what we did with our apples. Next year I hope you can get enough apples to post recipe of that too. I’m totally new at canning, but really enjoyed canning fruit this summer.”
Can you tell me how many cups of pitted peaches 11 lbs is? I am assuming that you weigh the peaches before they are pitted?
Hi Sue, I wish I measured it that way. Once they are pitted, peeled and sliced, it’s about 20-22 cups of peaches. I filled my pot and measured for you. (This is what google tells me: 1 lb peaches = 3 cups sliced) Hope that helps!
I made this with 60 peaches and 4 cups and it is amazing! i have it a little mashing at the last boil but other than it broke up into a great jam on its own. very easy very good recipe
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hi — I have a batch of this on the stove… When I do the boils 2-5, should I be simmering it 10 minutes each time, or just bringing it to a boil and then taking off the heat?
Hi Janno, each time, I let it simmer for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat. It helps it thicken up better as the steam evaporates with the simmer.
I used this recipe to can my homegrown nectarines, and they turned out great! The process was exactly the same, except I only had seven (7) lbs to process, so I used two (2) cups of sugar. I boiled my fruit / sugar mixture six (6) times to get a thicker consistency, and its just perfect for me. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Chelsea!
Yours are so bright and peachy! Mine not so much. Did I need more lemon? I also used the peaches that weren’t my “A” canning, just riper. Woukd that make a diff?Thanks so much!
Hi Lisa, following the instructions here, the fruit does not lose color or flavor. If you cook it for too long at too high of the preserves will get darker, however it won’t really affect the flavor unless they get burn
Making this now with 60 homegrown peaches! and its coming out so well!
Just a few questions- What is the consistency? does the boiling and stirring mash the peaches, or is it more of a chunk preserve? Can I mash them to have a smoother texture? Or will that just make it all very watery?
On boil #3, my house smells amazing
Hi, it does have a chunkier texture that breaks down more and more with each boil down but yes you can use an immersion blender (or a regular blender in batches), to puree it further to your desired consistency.
I made the peach jam a couple of days ago. I cut the sugar back as the peaches were very ripe. What a mistake as my jam is just wet mush and more like a fruit stew.
I learned my lesson to add the sugar recommended. I did follow the directions completely.
Thank you for sharing those valuable insights!
I don’t know if your “mush” would be safe if canned., However if you like the taste, use it as refrigerator jam. I have done a quick fruit topping that ends up like this and use it on french toast, sandwiches, yogurt, ricotta, cottage cheese,…. Since i am diabetic and the amount of jam I like is too many carbs, but artificial sugar causes digestive issues for me, this works well for me.
Hello from Ontario, picked up lovely peaches for canning at Niagara Vineland. Made the recipe as per recommendation and I have wonderful peach jam for the winter and Christmas gifts.
Thank you for this great method. It now in my own recipe book to be handed down!
Hi Kirsten, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I bet these would make the best Christmas gifts! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I stumbled upon your article on Peach Preserves … it just so happens that I have two peach trees with buku fruit and I am enthused by your recipe/ process, so I have asked my wife to pick up jars today and this weekend I will be making peach preserves!
I will return to post a review of the process and the outcome as well.
thank you
I’ve used this recipe 2 yrs in a row and it’s the best for sure! It does take longer to make but it’s worth the wait. I can’t make enough to keep up with the demand! Thanks for sharing
so sorry – forgot to give it a rating. 5 Stars!
Awww thank you Diane! You’re so nice. Thanks for the thoughtful review.
I have peach fruit tree in yard with LOTS of fruit…new to area…how long canned jam last once finished and sealed.
Hi Jenny, if processed correctly, preserves will keep up to 2 years. Once they are opened, keep them in the refrigerator up to 3 months.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you Diane!
I think by day 3 these are unsafe. Opened the lid to start the last boil today and voila, see slight mold on the edge of my pan. They would have been perfect yesterday. 😩.
Hi Holly, oh no! That’s definitely unusual and sorry to hear that. In all the years we’ve made these, I have never seen that before. These have ample amounts of sugar to prevent any kind of spoilage over the course of three days with boiling them down each day. I would highly suggest following the proportions in the recipe for sugar to fruit.
Natasha, thank you so much for your responses and what you are doing! So far your recipes are awesome! I am looking for recipes for jams of strawberries, raspberries, currant, cherries, apricots and dogwood (kyzyl). It would be so great if you know them and would post them on your wonderful site! Thank you very much again!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our site, Iryna! We have Apricot preserves here, our plum jam here is pretty popular too! Thank you for those other suggestions!
Help!! Tastes acidy..sat over night as still needs 3 more heat and cool sessions. Tested good last night.
Natasha, what size of pan you recommend to use processing jams, adjika, etc? Not for boiling jars, I understand that it’s typical canning pan, 20 qts. My question is about capacity of a pan for cooking that stuff in. Will 9 qts be enough or more? Thank you
Hi Iryna, 9 quarts is definitely plenty. I believe the one I had in the photos was a 7 quart.
First time canning- very easy recipe to follow, thank you! We buy preserves now that do not have any added sugar. Is it possible to make this recipe sugarless or add less sugar or will that alter the outcome?
Hi Christa, that is a great question. I recommend reading through a few of the comments there are a few discussions on sugar there. But, I haven’t tried wiht out sugar but one of my readers, CJ reported the following using a substitution: “Shirley asked about using Splenda for preserves. I’ve used it many times with great success and taste. You must water bath the filled jars as there is no sugar protection to prevent bacterial/mold growth. For others, adding a few drops of almond extract makes nectarine preserves taste more strongly, like peach.” Hope this is helpful!
Natasha, how large should be the cooking pot? Will 6 quarts be enough? How thick? Dutch oven or stainless steel to prevent from burning? Thank you!
Great question, Iryna, I recommend reading the “What you will need” section in the recipe blog post. We mention needing “Large Stock Pot (20Qt+) with Rack (or purchase a canner)”