My grandma had an abundance of peaches this year from her orchard. I was trying to find something else to do other than canning and freezing them. I thought of jam , but didn’t have any pectin. Since I live in the middle of no where, it was kind of hard to get some before the peaches went bad.

After looking through canning and preserving books my grandma gave me, I found an incredibly easy recipe. Every recipe seems like it was so much easier back then. My grandma grew up extremely poor. Dirt floors and she shared one bed with all her siblings. There were eight of them.

They did everything on there own, spending money on only necessary essentials. They harvested close to all of there own food. Canned and preserved it for the year. It’s thanks to my grandma for teaching me all about canning and preserving food.

Recipe: Simple Peach Jam

16 medium ripe peaches

4 cups sugar

For this recipe you will need about 16 medium peaches, Albertas work the best for easy peeling and pitting. And 4 cups of sugar. This recipe can be cut in half, for a smaller batch if you prefer.

First, you need to get the peaches peeled. The easiest way to do this is to drop them in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds and then transfer to a sink full of cold water. The peels should just fall off. Cut in half and remove pit. Remove any bad and bruised spots. After you get them all peeled, cut them into slices and put into a large pot.

Turn burner on medium heat and start cooking the peaches, stirring often as to not burn them. Mash them as you stir them. When they start to bubble, add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.

You’re going to have to simmer off all the excess water, peaches contain a lot of water. The recipe I followed said to simmer for two hours, but I found I had to for about four hours.

I prefer my jam to be on the thick side, and depending on your preference is how long you’ll let it simmer. Continue to stir often and remove from heat when you get the consistency you like.

Spoon into small jam jars, recipe fills 7-8 small jam jars. Place lids and rings and turn upside down for about an hour, to set the seal. Another little trick I learned from my grandma. Her advice for simple living is the most valuable advice I will ever gain.