How To: Process Peaches for Homemade Jam

Last week, my parents called and told me their neighbor had two 5 gallon buckets of peaches they harvested from their backyard tree. I have yet to bottle fruit to use throughout the year, but I LOVE peach jam! I picked up the buckets and brought them home to process the fruit. If you didn't know, two 5 gallon buckets of peaches can make about 9 batches of jam! Of course, I don't have time to make all that goodness in one day...or week...or month. But processing or preparing the fruit beforehand and freezing it to use at a later time makes life so much easier! Like SO. MUCH. EASIER.

First, I blanch the peaches. To do this, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Put fruit into the boiling water for 2-2 1/2 minutes and then transfer them to ice water (I fill my sink with cold water and add ice). 

Afterwards, I peel the peaches. I have found blanching to make this very easy and the skins come off clean! *Note: This is a GREAT job for little helpers. My children enjoy helping me peel peaches! 

After peaches are blanched and peeled, I use my fingers to open them up and take out the pits. Once my fruit is peeled and pitted, I put them in a pot and get out my emulsion blender. You could use a regular blender or food processor, but I found this to be the easiest. Blend your fruit to whatever consistency you desire for your jam. I'm not a huge fan of big chunks of fruit in my preserves/jam/jellies, so I emulsify it pretty finely. 

Once blending is done, I divide the peaches into ziploc bags with 4 1/2 cups in each bag, because that is how much fruit is required for my peach jam recipe. Whatever recipe you use, put the amount of fruit needed into a ziploc bag and freeze. When the time comes to make a batch of jam, all you have to do is take the bag out of the freezer and thaw! No extra measuring. No extra dividing. The hard part is basically done and you're ready to cook that fruit, add your pectin and sugar (and lemon juice), and process it in bottles! #genius 

Happy Harvesting!

-Megan