Peach Preserves

Marie Overton
Jan 24, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Sep 15

Fruit preserves are whole fruit preserved in a sweet syrup. Peach preserves are a lovely addition to your food storage pantry. These peach preserves make a great topping for pancakes, waffles, ice cream, and any number of other items.

Makes: 9 half-pint jars

4 Cups Blanched, Peeled, Pitted and Sliced Peaches
7 Cups Sugar
2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
5 tablespoons Pectin
1/2 Tsp Butter (Optional)

Preparation to Make Homemade Peach Preserves:

Prepare your boiling water bath canner by filling it about halfway full with water and place it on the stove on medium heat.

Sliced peaches in a pot on a granite countertop. A hand holds a cup of sugar. Nearby are lemon juice and a small bowl with butter.

Blanch, peel, and cut peaches in half lengthwise; remove the pits. Cut Peach halves into 1/2 inch slices. Measure 4 cups of peach slices.

Cook the Peach Preserves:

Place in a large pot: peaches, lemon juice, pectin, and the optional butter to reduce foam.

Hands stir sugar and peach slices in a metal pot on a dark stove, creating a sweet mix. Bright orange and white colors dominate.

Bring the mixture to a boil, add sugar and return to a boil. Maintain a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if necessary.

The jam pot featured here is a nice big one that will help keep you and your stove safe from boiling preserves.

Fill Your Jars with Peach Preserves:

Using a jar funnel, ladle the hot peach preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.

Hand ladling peach preserves into glass jars on a speckled countertop. A pot of preserves is visible, with bright yellow peach slices.

Remove any air bubbles. I like to use wooden chopsticks for this. Wipe off the rim of the jar with a clean damp cloth. Center the lid on the jar and adjust the band to finger-tip tight. Repeat until all of your jars are full.

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Process the Jars of Peach Preserves:

Place the filled jars into the boiling water bath canner. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 to 2 inches. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover the water canner, and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars for 10 minutes. Adjusting processing time for your altitude.

Hand using tongs to lift a jar of preserves on a granite counter. Other jars rest on a woven mat. Kitchen sink in background.

After processing, allow to cool in the water bath with the heat off and the lid removed for 5 minutes.

At the end of the cooling time, carefully remove the jars from the water bath and place them on a heat resistant surface about 1-2 inches apart. Allow them to cool completely for 24 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars.