Peach Jalapeño Jam

Sweet meets spicy in this incredible recipe for Peach Jalapeño Jam. It’s an irresistible combination of flavors to elevate your breakfast toast, cheese boards, or cracker dip. Just think of the sweetness of ripe peaches combined with the subtle heat of jalapeño. And right now is the perfect season to make it fresh at home. So grab your jars and let’s get started. 

We know it can be intimidating if you’ve never made and preserved jam. But don’t let that stop you! If you can make a box of macaroni and cheese, you can make jam in a steam canner. It takes a little time, and some know-how, but trust us, you can do it. We’re here to walk you through all the steps.

Preparing the Jam

For this recipe, peel the peaches, remove the pits, and roughly chop them with a pairing knife. Then macerate them in a pot with the sugar, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, lemon zest, and E-Z Gel. Add some spice by tossing the chopped peppers into the pot and cook over high heat. As the mixture warms up on the stove, start breaking up the peaches and bring the mixture to a boil. Skim off any foam (aka skud according to Grandpa Foote) and stir occasionally to keep the bottom from scorching. After a few minutes, start testing the consistency on a frozen plate to see how it sets up. Once the mixture thickens to your liking, remove it from the heat and carefully ladle it into your warm, sterilized jars while it’s still hot. Top with the lids and screw on the rings just to finger tight. 

Processing the Jars

Now you’re ready to seal your jars. You can choose to use water bath canning or atmospheric steam canning—whichever method you’re more comfortable with. We chose to pull out the steam canner because it requires less water and heats up quickly (read more about the different home canning methods here). We also love having our canning kit on hand for all the little tools needed to fill jars and get them in and out of the processor. Before preparing the jam, we used the steam canner to sterilize our clean jars and lids and then just kept them over low heat while we made the jam. Then we removed the jars, filled them, and placed filled jars back in the canner before cranking up the heat for processing. Just remember, processing times increase or decrease based on elevation. Here is a good chart to use if you aren’t sure.

See. Simple as that. Below is the recipe for Peach Jalapeño Jam you can follow for an irresistible combination of flavors. Let us know what you plan to spread it on in the comments!

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Peach Jalapeño Jam

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Serves: 8 8oz Jars

Ingredients

• 7-8 ripe peaches
• 5 cups sugar
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp lemon zest
• 3 Tbsp E-Z Gel
• 3 jalapeños (deseeded and finely chopped)

Instructions

1

Before starting, place a small ceramic or porcelain plate in the freezer so you can test the jam’s consistency.

2

Clean jars and lids in hot, soapy water and then sterilize.

3

Blanch and peel peaches, then remove pits and roughly chop (should yield about 8 cups).

4

Add peaches to a large pot (avoid raw cast iron or aluminum because acidity will react with the metal). Then add sugar, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, lemon zest, and E-Z Gel. Stir to combine and let the mixture sit (over no heat) for 10 minutes to macerate.

5

Meanwhile, finely chop jalapeños. Note, for less heat, remove the seeds and the ribs and for more heat keep the ribs and seeds intact.

6

Add finely chopped peppers to mixture and stir (for a smoother texture you can use an immersion blender to reach preferred texture). Once combined, cook over high heat until mixture comes to full boil.

7

Cook for 5-10 additional minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching and skimming off any foam on the surface.

8

As jam thickens, test it on the frozen plate to see how it sets up. If the jam is too loose, cook for a few more minutes. This is a good time to taste the jam and see if it’s spicy enough. Just keep in mind, the fresh jam tastes significantly spicier than it will the next day.

9

Once jam sets up to your liking, remove from heat and carefully ladle into prepared jars leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe jar rims with a damp towel, top with lid, and screw on the rings just until finger tight.

10

Carefully place jars in the canner and turn up the heat until it reaches temperature. Because we are at 4,300 feet elevation we let the jars process at proper temperature for 20 minutes (processing times for steam canning are the same as for water bath canning, and both will increase or decrease based on elevation.).

11

Carefully remove jars and place on a clean kitchen towel. Let sit at room temperature and allow them to cool for 24 hours without touching them. As jars seal, they should make a “pop” or “ting” sound.

12

The next day, test jars by pressing in the center of the lid. It should no longer flex, letting you know jars have been sealed.

Notes

If any jars do not seal, just put them in the fridge to use in the next couple months. Sealed jars you can store in a dark, cool place for up to one year.