Peach jam is a favorite around here and we’ve been completely out of our stash for months now. When we were looking for a recipe to follow we were astonished at how much sugar all of the recipes called for. I know that every time we make jam we make this same discovery, but it’s never not crazy to see that most recipes call for more sugar than peaches (ex 4 cups of peaches and 5 cups of sugar). I have a major sweet tooth and even the low sugar recipes are too sweet for me and it hides the peach flavor. I cannot understand how the normal jam recipes have as much sugar in them as they do.

So we did some tweaking and today I’m sharing with you our low sugar peach jam recipe with a twist. That twist is using salt. The salt adds a touch of savoriness to the sweet jam and it goes together well like salt & caramel do. However, if the salt freaks you out, you can totally omit it. It isn’t a strong flavor, just think of it as balancing out the mix. You could also add cinnamon or other spices like that. Do not be afraid that this jam is not going to be sweet enough because it calls for almost half what the usual recipes call for. I promise it’s still super sweet and even with the added salt, you’ll still want to put it on everything you’d normally put peach jam on.

If you’re wanting to be creative with how you use your peach jam, check out this meatloaf recipe where we use peach jam as a part of the glaze. It is delicious and I could probably eat this recipe every day. If you really want to take a walk on the wild side, try out these sausage balls and do yourself a favor and slap a little peach jam on them. Another out of the ordinary way we like to use peach jam is to add it to our breakfast sandwiches. Toast some bread, add some peach jam, fry an egg, slap some sausage or bacon on that egg, and top it with cheese. You’ll thank me later. And lastly, if you are curious about my mental state when making this recipe, read this journal entry.

I do want to be clear. This recipe is not a recipe that has been tested & approved for canning safety. In this house we taking canning safety very seriously and we are not “rebel canners” by any means. We follow the safe canning guidelines to a tee. The reason I feel comfortable canning this peach jam without it being an approved recipe is that I understand the concepts of what it takes for a jam to be safely canned. If you are new to canning, definitely start out with an USDA approved recipe while you learn the basics. That being said, you can absolutely make this recipe and just freeze the jam instead of water bath canning it.

Salted Peach Jam Recipe

If you want to make a smaller batch, you can absolute cut this recipe in half.

Makes 14 pints

Ingredients:

16 cups peaches
9 cups sugar
4 Tbsp Dutch Jell
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp salt

Directions:

Wash peaches and remove the skins, pits, and any brown/bad spots. We froze our peaches and then thawed them. This was the skins peel off very easily.
Dice the peaches.
Mix together all the ingredients and let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.
Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil. Crush or smash the peaches with a potato masher.
Boil for 5 minutes or until correct thickness is reached. Use the spoon test to make sure the jam will set.
Remove any foam that comes to the top.
Pour jam into sterilized jars and leave 1/4 inch headspace.
Wipe rim of jars and add lid and bands finger tight.
Place in canner and let the water get back to a boil. Once boiling again, let the cans process for 10 minutes- add time for higher altitudes.

*If you don’t want to can your peach jam, you can add the jam to jars then let it cool on your counter. After the jam has cooled down, put it in the freezer. Defrost when you are ready to eat it.