Making this easy fresh peach jam is super fun and rewarding. Homemade jam will last you for the whole year and can also make great gifts to share with friends and family.
Since Dustin and I moved to Austin, we have wanted to visit this little town called Fredericksburg, Texas. Fredericksburg is a small town deep in Texas Hill Country and is known for its peaches (as is its neighboring town, Stonewall).
So, not only did fresh peach jam sound amazing, but it also gave us an opportunity to visit Fredericksburg again. Yay!
That town is so darn cute -- we couldn't stand it. We both agree we already need to go back again.

With my parents visiting us for a week, we thought it'd be neat to make some homemade peach jam together. Over the years, we have all made homemade jam, including strawberry chia jam and blackberry chia jam.
What's not to love about a cute little country town that has “Fresh Peaches” signs posted everywhere? It's like a rule or something: fresh peaches = happiness. Visiting Fredericksburg even reminded Dustin and me how much we would love to live out in the country and run a vineyard or farm.

Ingredients for Peach Jam
You don't need many ingredients to make this easy peach jam recipe, thankfully. Here's what you'll need:
- Fresh Ripe Peaches: When you chop peaches, you'll need about 3 lbs. to yield 4 cups. We used a combination of Stonewall white and yellow peaches, but any peaches will do.
- Lemon Juice: This will require about 2 lemons and is a great acidic cut to the fresh peaches.
- Raw Honey: When swapping raw honey for granulated sugar, you don't need to use nearly as much of the honey because it is sweeter than sugar. Given this, I recommend using about ¾ cup for every 1 cup of sugar. For this recipe, that means using 5 ½ cups raw honey. This recipe originally included granulated sugar, and I've wanted to update it forever to avoid processed sugar. If you're following the original recipe, it called for a whopping 7 ½ cups of granulated sugar.
- Sure-Jell Certo Fruit Pectin: You'll need to use liquid fruit pectin so the jam sets and can be canned. If not canning and just making for use in the fridge, you can use chia seeds, as I do in these 5 Homemade Chia Jam Recipes.

How to Make Homemade Peach Jam
The process to make jam is relatively simple. Just follow these steps, and you've got it!
- Fill a Canner half-full of water and bring to a simmer.
- Wash Mason Canning Jars, Lids and Bands in hot, soapy water and then rinse with warm water.
- Remove the skin from the peaches.
- Add peeled peaches, lemon juice, and raw honey (or sugar)to a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil for a minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon.
- Ladle the mixture into the prepared, cleaned jars. Screw bands on tightly and place jars on the elevated Canning Rack in the canner.
- Lower rack into canner so that water covers jars by 1 to 2 inches. Cover and bring to a gentle boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove jars using a Jar Lifter and place them upright on a towel to cool completely.
- After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of the lid with your finger. If lid springs/pops back, it is not sealed and that jar will need to be refrigerated.
- Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours and then your jam is ready. Store unopened jam in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 1 year.
- Refrigerate opened jams for up to 3 weeks.

Choosing The Best Fruit For Homemade Jam
When buying fresh fruit for your jam, don't worry about how it looks – just how it tastes. We even ask for the “ugly" ones because they're usually cheaper. This is another reason why making homemade jam is amazing if you happen to have a lot of fresh fruit on your hands.
For the tastiest ripe peaches, look for vibrant, yellow flesh and golden-reddish skin. Again, bruises or blemishes on these peaches are okay.


How To Peel Peaches For Jam
For this easy peach jam recipe, you'll want to remove the skin from the peaches. To peel a fresh peach, blanch for 45 seconds in boiling water, then remove and place in ice cold water for 1 minute.
Using a sharp paring knife, make a criss-cross slit at the bottom of the peach to create a place to insert the knife blade.
Gently grab the skin between your finger and the knife blade and remove the skin. Trust me -- this works wonders.


Jam Making Tools You'll Need
Often, you can find some or all of these in a canning set on Amazon, but here are the individual pieces broken out and their uses.
- Paring Knife: This will be used to peel the peaches. Look for a sharp knife that can pierce the peach's skin but is still small enough to be easily maneuverable.
- Glass Mason Jars: Glass is the best option for canning, and it can be reused over and over. I use 16-oz mason jars for canning. For gifts, I'll also use these smaller 4-oz jars.
- Canning Pot: You'll need a deep, large pot that will hold the canning rack and all the mason jars. These can also be used to store all your canning tools once you're done. This is also called a "Canner."
- Sauce Pan: We'll need to cook down the peaches first before we turn them into jam, so you'll need a large saucepan to do so.
- Canning Rack with Tongs: This will be essential to lift the hot mason jars out of the boiling water in the canning pot.
- Canning Funnel: You'll need this when filling your mason jars. The wide mouth and large funnel will keep you from spilling your homemade jam everywhere. It also works great for adding anything to a mason jar.

Fresh Peach Jam Recipe
Equipment
- Glass Mason Jars I use 16-oz jars for storing it and 4-oz for gifts
- Saucepan
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh peaches about 3 lbs., we used a combination of Stonewall white and yellow peaches
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice about 2 lemons
- 5 cups raw honey*
- 1 pouch Sure-Jell Certo Fruit Pectin liquid fruit pectin
Instructions
- Fill a Canner half-full of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Wash Mason Canning Jars, Lids and Bands in hot, soapy water and then rinse with warm water. Add jars, screw bands and lids to simmering water. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well.
- Remove the skin from the peaches by blanching for 45 seconds in boiling water, then removing and placing in ice cold water for 1 minute. Using a sharp paring knife, make a crisscross slit at the bottom of the peach to create a place to insert the knife blade. Gently grab the skin between your finger and the knife blade and remove the skin (see photos above). Once skin is removed, remove the pits. Finely chop the peeled, pitted peaches.
- Measure 4 cups finely chopped pealed peaches and cook over medium-high heat in 6- or 8-quart saucepan for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and raw honey to saucepan and stir to combine. [You may add ½ tsp. unsalted butter to reduce the foaming if you wish.]
- Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin pouch quickly. Return to a full rolling boil and boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let mixture boil over. Remove from heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon.
- Ladle mixture into the prepared, cleaned jars. I really recommend using a Wide-Mouth Funnel to easily ladle mixture into jars. Fill each jar to within ⅛-inch from the top. Wipe the jar rims and threads and cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands on tightly and place jars on elevated Canning Rack in canner. Lower rack into canner so that water covers jars by 1 to 2 inches. If more water is needed, add boiling water. Cover and bring to gently boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars using a Jar Lifter and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of the lid with your finger. If lid springs/pops back, it is not sealed and that jar will need to be refrigerated.
- Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store unopened jam in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 1 year. Refrigerate opened jams for up to 3 weeks.


Mandy Snyder
Thank you for literally having the best canning instructions for jam I have found!
It is much appreciated.
Lacey Baier
You're very welcome!!
Cindy
My Jam turned out pretty good but when I did my second batch I was having problems with them not from popping. Were the jars tightened too tightly before I put them in the water bath? Can I reopen and heat back for a second bath??
Lacey Baier
It's likely they did not boil long enough or there was an issue with the seal. For those, we just refrigerate them immediately and enjoy them first.
Betty
This recipe does not specify how long to cook peaches over medium heat before adding lemon juice and sugar
Emma Zielinski
I added it in with my peaches immediately and it worked out great.
Nancy
I am going to try this recipe today
Lacey Baier
Wooot! I hope you love it. 🙂
James Szwagierczak
I made this jam and gave it away for Christmas and everybody raves about it. They’ve actually put in an order for next year.
Anna Mae Galbraith
When do you add the pectin to the peach nixture?
Chef Michael
The gel does not set, because you need to add pectin FIRST, rolling boil one minute, add sugar LAST, rolling boil for one minute. DO NOT SCREW BANDS ON TIGHT. The steam has to displace the air, which can't get out if bands are too tight. 10 minutes in canner for pints, 15 minutes for quarts, to kill the germs.
Lori Poublon
Thank you chef Michael! We ended up with peach syrup, it did not set. Online it was suggested we did not let the peach mixture boil long enough, but I will first try putting in the pectin and sugar last.
Melissa Graham
Do not use this recipe!! It needs to be taken down! SEVERAL comments of not setting!
Jan L Lindeman
It's the same recipe as in my box with pectin. I'm sure it works if you FOLLOW the directions.
Patricia Casto
Followed you recipe ,but it looks like there's a lot of liquid and not much fruit
Rose
I had the same problem. This recipe has twice as much sugar as any other so I am wondering if this is sufficient to be seven 1/2cups of sugar (3.5 cups) instead of 7.5 cups? It will be good on pancakes and waffles.
Melanee Havens
This was easy to make and the flavors are wonderful!! Thanks for sharing, this one's definitely a keeper for the recipe box.
Virginia Mobley
used your recepie for peach jam and it didn't set. It is the consistancy of syrup. Can I redo and add more pectin or what ????
Kathleen
Virginia- same thing here. Can you redo with more pectin/certo? Can anyone answer please
Sylvia Allan
Just wondering why you don't simply sterilize your jars first to avoid the hot water bath? Less work, same safe result. Love peaches!
Cherye L Elliott
I use the water bath after I fill up the jars to seal them for storage.
Pop the jars in the hot water for five minutes and wait for the tops to pop!
Donna Black
Have you by any chance, tried using less sugar if the peaches are very sweet?
Dorothy
It makes it not set as hard if you use less sugar. It seems like a lot, but it does need all the sugar. You can cut it by about 1/4 of the sugar without it going liquid, but I'd stick with the full sugar amount.
DD
Can I make this peach jam with a lower sugar content? If so how would I go about doing that?
Dorothy
You can use less sugar if you use a low sugar pectin. If you use a regular pectin, you would only be able to cut the sugar by 1/4.
Susan
Real easy good directions