Morning No-Cook Peach Jam

This freezer jam skips the canning kettle entirely, which means you can put up summer peaches without spending an afternoon over a steaming pot. Mashed ripe peaches get stirred with sugar, allowed to rest while the sugar dissolves, then liquid pectin and lemon juice go in to set the jam without any heat at all.

The freezer storage is the trade-off. No-cook jams aren’t shelf-stable like traditional water-bath canned versions, but the payoff is dramatic. The peach flavor stays bright and fresh, almost like a perfectly ripe peach captured in a jar, instead of cooking into the muted, caramelized notes that long-simmered jams get.

Pro Tips

• Use the ripest peaches you can find. Underripe fruit doesn’t have enough natural sugar or pectin to balance properly with the added ingredients.
• Stir constantly for the full 3 minutes after adding pectin. The sugar needs to fully dissolve, otherwise you get a grainy jam with sandy texture.
• Let jars sit at room temperature for 24 hours to fully set before freezing. Moving them to the freezer too soon can prevent the pectin from setting properly.
• Use rigid plastic freezer jars or freezer-safe canning jars with at least a half inch of headspace. Filled too full, the jam expands and cracks the jar.

Variations

• Add a half teaspoon of almond extract for a peach-stone flavor that plays against the fruit.
• Stir in a pinch of cinnamon or grated fresh ginger for a warmer, spiced version.
• Swap half the peaches for raspberries or blueberries for a mixed-fruit freezer jam.