Peach, Pear, and Plum Jam

When my son was little, I made a lot of jam. Actually it was me obsessed with jam. It was a great distraction from the day-to-day life of first-time mothers, and it was good to eat, too. We were die-hard berry pickers back then – it was the perfect activity for a young child when the days were long and my brain was starving for ideas to keep them entertained.

How to choose the best fruit for jam

Peaches, pears and plums hang around until mid-September and they make an excellent combination to preserve this unique jam. When making jam, select the best fruit available. Firm and perfectly ripe easy Unripe fruit has the highest levels of acid and pectin, giving you the best results.

For smoothies, add overripe or unclean fruit to the blender with a good squeeze of lemon if you want to avoid waste. Too unripe your jam will lack flavor. Taste the fruit and you’ll have an idea of ​​how your jam will ultimately taste.

You can also use frozen fruit – either store-bought fruit or fruit you have frozen yourself – if you have the fruit but don’t have time to do anything with it, freezing is a great option. You’ll come to your jam-making later, when the spirit moves you.

Specific fruit recommendations

For this jam, you can really use any kind of peaches, pears, and plums that you have available. That said, here are some of my recommendations:

peaches: I like to use yellow peaches because they are tangy and sweet. White peaches are sweeter, softer, and have less acidity. Freestone peaches, available mid to late in season, are the easiest to pit.

pears: Red and green Anjou pears, golden brown Boscs and green Comice pears are readily available and hold their shape well when cooked – better than them turning into a mush which makes the jam muddy. Choose firm but ripe pears and peel, core and cut into 1-inch pieces.

plum: There are too many varieties of plum to count, from green and red to almost black. Dark-skinned plums will give your jam the prettiest color, but all plums are good candidates. No peeling necessary!

Tips for cooking the jam

• Unfortunately, there is no magic number on the thermometer that indicates that your jam has reached its setting point. This is just a matter of practice. The fruit syrup starts out liquid and gradually thickens until it falls off the spoon. As a perpetual second guesser, I like to test it in a cold saucer just to be sure.
• The time it takes to cook the jam depends on how the acid and pectin in the fruit interact with the heat and sugar.
• Start with a large saucepan and only fill it halfway. As the jam cooks, it tends to bubble, so give it plenty of room.
• Foam may rise to the surface as the fruit cooks. Don’t skim it! Just ignore it – if you start skimming early, there won’t be any jam left. Instead, wait for it to set and if there’s still foam around the edges, you can skim it off.

Can store your jam longer

In the unlikely event that you eat up all of the jam within a few weeks, you can store it in the fridge. But that takes up a lot of real estate. Use the bain-marie canning method below instead and your jam will keep out of the fridge for up to 1 year.

More canning recipes to try

• Apricot Riesling jam
• rosehip jelly
• Meyer lemon marmalade
• Seville orange marmalade
• Chia seed jam with berries