Easy Peach Jam Recipe - Low Sugar or Honey

Learn how to make low sugar peach jam using Pomonas Pectin! Using ripe peaches, honey and/or sugar, and lemon juice you can create a jam that is perfectly spreadable but not too sweet.

I love turning seasonal fruits into jams - It becomes a treat throughout the year! But sometimes I want something a little less sweet than my usual jellies and jams. This is where Pomonas Pectin comes in!

Pomona's Universal Pectin is great because it will gel without the need for high amounts of sugar and can also be used to make fruit syrups, chutneys, and pie fillings! I used it in my low sugar mulberry pie filling canning guide.

Jump to:

• Equipment
• Ingredients You'll Need
• Step-by-Step Peach Jam with Low Sugar or Honey
• Jammer's Tips
• FAQ
• Related

Equipment

• Water bath canner or steam canner - I used my steam canner.
• Jar lifter, canning funnel, and ladle
• Pint or half pint canning jar with rings and lids - This recipe makes at least 5 cups.
• Clean towel or paper towel - Used to wipe jar rims before adding lids and rings.
• Medium-sized pot - For cooking the jam.
• Potato masher or fork - For mashing the ripe, chopped peaches.
• Wooden stirring spoon
• Towel or cooling mat - For jars after they are processed.

Ingredients You'll Need

• Peaches (peeled) - 4 cups of mashed peaches (around 3lbs of fresh peaches).
• Lemon Juice (bottled) - ¼ cup
• Pomonas Pectin - This includes the calcium powder and pectin that sets the jam. For this recipe you will need:
  • 4 teaspoon prepared calcium water
  • 3 teaspoon pectin
• Sugar and/or honey - This is the amount that is up you! Decide if you want to sweeten with sugar or honey or a mix of both.
  ½ cup up to 1 cup room temp runny honey or ¾ cup up to 2 cups sugar

Step-by-Step Peach Jam with Low Sugar or Honey

Get your Canning Stuff Ready

Start by washing your jars, lids, and rings in hot, soapy water.

Keep the lids in a pan with some hot water to keep them warm until you’re ready to use them. Modern lids don’t require this anymore, but I still like to do it.

Place the clean jars in your water bath canner or steam canner to keep them hot while you prepare the jam.

Prep the Peaches

Wash, peel, chop, and mash the peaches, then place them in a medium-sized pot.

Prepare the Jam Base

Prepare the calcium water by mixing ½ teaspoon of calcium from the packet with ½ cup of water. Shake to combine. I like to use a half-pint jelly jar for this.

From this mixture, measure out 4 teaspoon of calcium water. You can save the rest of the calcium water for a future Pomona's Pectin recipe.

Add the lemon juice and calcium water to the mashed peaches and mix well.

Mix Pectin with Sweetener, Then Cook the Jam

In a bowl that will fit your sugar and/or honey, measure out the desired amount of sweetener and thoroughly mix in the pectin. Set aside.

Before adding the pectin mixture, bring the mashed peaches, lemon juice, and calcium water to a full boil. Once boiling, add the sweetener–pectin mixture and stir thoroughly to dissolve, about 1–2 minutes.

Return the jam to a full rolling boil (bubbles cannot be stirred down with a spoon), then remove from heat immediately.

Fill Your Jars

Using a funnel, ladle the hot jam into jars, leaving ¼ inch of headspace.

Remove bubbles with a debubbler tool and add more jam if needed. Wipe rims before placing lids on top and screwing on rings to fingertip tight.

Process

Bring jars back to your canner. If using a water bath canner, be sure to leave at least 1 inch of water covering the jars.

Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes, adjusting for elevation.

Remove Jars and Cool

When time is up, remove jars from heat and wait 5–10 minutes before removing jars.

Using a jar lifter, transfer jars to a towel-lined counter and let them cool and seal for 12–24 hours.

Check Seals and Store

Once the jars have cooled completely, check that all have sealed. Remove rings, wash jars if needed.

If any jars didn’t seal, store them in the refrigerator and use within 3 weeks.

Store the sealed jars and use within the next year — Pomona’s pectin will break down and loosen quicker than regular commercial pectin. (This doesn't affect preservation).

After opening, use within 3 weeks.

Jammer's Tips

• As mentioned above, the sweetener is up to you. The pectin in Pomona's will reliably gel regardless of how much sugar is added, and the acidity is safe with the proper amount of lemon juice.
• Depending on your sweetener of choice, this will add or decrease volume to the amount of jam. For this reason I always prep 1 or 2 more jars and sets of lids and rings just in case.
• Use a thin, runny honey for this recipe if you decide to use it. As you notice in the directions, the pectin must be evenly mixed with the sweetener before it is added to the pot. As you could imagine, using a chunky crystalized honey would be a nightmare.

FAQ

Related

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