Saskatoon Peach Jam

Much to the happiness of my kitchen stove, I finally invested in an outdoor propane burner for canning – just in time for preserving season to really kick off. It just so happens that berry season, at least here in the north, is not far away – and soon our buckets will be filled with ripe saskatoons and huckleberries to make into all sorts of preserves for the winter. This saskatoon peach jam is a blend of two different low-sugar jam recipes found on the insert of the pectin box – one for peach jam and the other for blueberry jam, which I substituted saskatoon for.

Ingredients

4 cups finely diced fresh peaches

4 cups fresh saskatoons

2 cups unsweetened apple juice

2 packages of no sugar/low sugar pectin

2 cups cane sugar*

4 tbsp bottled lemon juice

 

10-12 sanitized half pint jars

How To Make Low-Sugar Saskatoon Peach Jam

In a large pot, while still leaving plenty of room for the boiling jam, combine the peaches, saskatoons and apple juice. Stir in lemon juice and pectin. While stirring constantly, bring to a full, rolling boil. Add in cane sugar and bring back to a boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for three minutes more – being sure to stir the entire time to avoid scorching the jam. Remove from heat and scoop any foam off the top.

Pour jam into sterilized jars. Use a plastic knife to remove any air bubbles and wipe the rims before placing a lid and ring on, finger tight. Process in a hot water bath for whatever length of time is appropriate for your elevation (this varies throughout the province) – refer to the chart inside the pectin box for details.

 

Allow the jars to sit undisturbed for 24 hours before moving properly sealed jars to a cold room/pantry for storage.

*The use of a low sugar/no sugar-added pectin allows you to play around with how little sugar or sweetener you wish to use. I personally enjoy jams with less sugar as you get to enjoy more of the true flavours of the fruits and berries you are using; jams made using regular pectin use a large quantity of sugar.