Reduced Sugar Peach-Pineapple “Jam”
I love jams and make them all the time. A friend asked me if I could make peach jam with less sugar. I did a search and found plenty of recipes using artificial sweeteners, but that wasn’t what I was looking for. Then I found this recipe on the NCHFP website. It was just what I had been looking for and it was from a trusted and safe site. They did not call it jam, but rather a spread.
The recipe sounded quite simple. Almost too simple. Fruit, sugar and lemon juice. No added pectin. I knew I wanted to try it with some ripe peaches I needed to use up very soon. I wasn’t positive it would work. I was pleasantly surprised. It came out really nice. Plenty sweet and only 2 cups of sugar for a whole batch. You can use less or no sugar at all, if you prefer.
It did require a slightly longer cook time than my higher sugar recipes. More fruit was needed, too. It also is not straight peaches. The recipe is a combination of fresh peaches and canned, crushed pineapple. But in the end I have a tasty spread that tastes good. That is the goal. Thanks, Joe, for inspiring me to make this recipe in the first place.
So here is the recipe. Enjoy.
Reduced-Sugar Peach-Pineapple Spread
4 cups drained peach pulp, from 4-6 pounds of fresh peaches
2 cups drained unsweetened crushed pineapple
1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
2 cups sugar (optional)
This recipe may be made with any combination of peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums.
Yield: 5 to 6 half-pints
Thoroughly wash 4 to 6 pounds of firm, ripe peaches. Drain well. Peel and remove pits. I did not blanch the peaches before peeling. I just used a vegetable peeler and it worked fine. Grind fruit flesh with a medium or coarse blade, or crush with a fork (do not use a blender). I used a knife and coarsely sliced, then chopped the peaches fine. Place chopped, ground or crushed fruit in a 2-quart saucepan. Heat slowly to release juice, stirring constantly, until fruit is tender. This took about 10 minutes. Place cooked fruit in a strainer lined with four layers of cheesecloth. Allow juice to drip about 15 minutes.
While the peaches are draining, start heating up water in a water bath canner. Wash lids and jars and set aside.
Save the drained juice for jelly or other uses. The volume of peaches goes down a lot with the cooking and draining. I measured 8 cups of chopped fruit before cooking and draining and ended up with just over 4 cups of the pulp. Measure 4 cups of drained fruit pulp for making spread. Combine the 4 cups of pulp, pineapple, and lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan. Add up to 2 cups of sugar, if desired, and mix well. Heat and boil gently for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring enough to prevent sticking. Fill jars quickly, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims, screw on lids and place jars in the canner. Once water returns to the boil start timing. Process half pints for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn off heat and allow jars to remain in canner 5 minutes, before removing to a cooling rack or onto a towel. After jars cool completely, check seals. Makes 5-6 half pint jars.
Source : NCHFP
