Kitchen Jam

Making jam when fruit is fresh is a wonderful way to save the season, but it can be hot work. Peaches usually show up in central New York markets when the days are around 85 degrees and 100% humidity! Some years, I will freeze fruit slices or berries when they’re fresh, and make jam later in the fall after temperature and humidity have dropped and cut me some slack.

I didn’t freeze any fruit of my own this year, but the growers who supply frozen fruit to my local supermarkets did. Right now I can buy these fruits frozen without sugar: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, mango (!), and cherries — along with several variations of berry mixes. That means that a simple, no-canning-required freezer jam is only 15 mintues and my supermarket freezer case away, all year long.

Peaches are one of my favorite frozen-fruit jams, but this recipe will also work with an equal amount of thawed strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or mango puree. I haven’t tried it (yet) with cherries…that experiement is on my to-do list! The recipe started with frozen berries, and my peach and mango improvs are based directly on those instructions included in the inserts packed into years of Sure-Jell and Ball powdered pectin – check out the section with instructions for jams from frozen fruits, and let your imagination take over!

Since this is a freezer-refrigerator jam, make sure that you label the containers with a use-by date, and tell gift-ees to keep the jam either refrigerated, or frozen. Enjoy!

PEACH FREEZER JAM from frozen fruit *
3 c. frozen sliced peaches (or raspberries, strawberries, blueberries or blackberries)
1 1/2 c. 100% orange juice, unsweetened *
1/4 c. lemon juice
5 1/2 c. sugar
1 pkg. powdered pectin

DIRECTIONS

• Thaw the peaches (or other fruit.)
• Blend or process the thawed fruit until pureed; you should have at least 2 cups of fruit puree.
• Pour the fruit puree into large, heat-proof bowl (I use my Pyrex(R) 8-cup measuring bowl.)
• Mix 3/4 cup of the orange (or other fruit) juice with the lemon juice, and stir into the fruit puree.
• Stir sugar into the fruit puree, mixing thoroughly (make sure no lumps remain.)
• Let the fruit puree stand for at least 10 minutes.
• While the puree-sugar mixture rests, combine in a 2qt or larger saucepan the remaining 3/4 cup of orange (or other fruit) juice and the powdered pectin.
• Bring the pectin-juice mixture to a boil, and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Stir the immediately into fruit mixture, and keep stirring for 3 minutes to be sure the pectin is well-distributed.
• Ladle the jam into sterilized freezer canning jars or containers, leaving 1/2 inch head space.
• Cover jars or containers with lids.
• Let the jams stand at room temperature 24 hours; check the gel.

Store the cooled jam in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or in your freezer for up to 1 year. Makes approximately 5 one-cup containers of jam.

* You can also use 1 ½ cups of 100% or blended, no-sugar added: pineapple, pineapple-orange or peach juice (mix and match the juices used with the fruit!)
This recipe also works with 3 cups of frozen unsweetened whole raspberries, strawberries, blueberries or blackberries, enough to make about 2 cups of pureed fruit before adding fruit juice.