Yup third batch should be just perfect. I do use the sheeting test but I also always use a candy thermometer to make sure that I get the mixture to the right temperature. Plus I always try to remember that the mixture will keep cooking even when I take it off the burner and that as soon as it is close to the gelling point, to take it off the heat.

Stacie
girlsingardens

I had the problem of making peach sauce instead of jam last year too..LOL It's a soft set kinda like fruit butter.

But I did have sucess with one of peach jams for here. I think Carol shared it but it could have been on of the Lindas or even Nancy.

Peach Jam With Brown Sugar and Rum
6 cups frozen peach slices, thawed (unsweetened or fresh)
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
3/4 cup dark rum, preferably Jamaican (divided)
2 cups granulated sugar
Wash 6 half-pint jars and keep hot until needed. Prepare the lids as manufacturer directs. Combine the peaches with the brown sugar, lemon juice and about half of the rum in a large pot and stir the mixture well. Stir well, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Pour the fruit mixture into large, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer until the fruit chunks start turning translucent, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring several times. If the jam becomes too thick before the fruit clarifies, add 2 or 3 tablespoons water.
Add the granulated sugar and cook the jam rapidly over medium-high heat, stirring almost constantly, until a spoonful placed on a chilled saucer and refrigerated for a few moments wrinkles instead of running when the saucer is tilted sharply. (Remove the pot from the heat while testing.) Stir in the remaining rum and cook the jam for 2 minutes, stirring.
Ladle the boiling-hot jam into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach the lid. Fill and close the remaining jars. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
*Note: For Mango Jam use 6 cups peeled, chopped firm-ripe mangos and 6 tablespoons strained fresh lime juice in lieu of the lemon juice.
posted Readinglady - adapted from "Fancy Pantry" by Helen Witty (Sharon Maasdam)

When making a low sugar no pectin jam, I find the cold plate test the most helpful/reliable method. Use two small plates. Keep them in the freezer while making the jam. Then, when you think the jam is ready, test by dropping a dollop on a cold plate and letting it rest for a second. Then run your finger through the middle of the dollop. If it splits into two sides like Moses parting the Red Sea, then the jam is ready. If it quickly runs together, cook longer. Put the plate back in and then use the cooler one for the next test, and so forth. Usually it takes me about 3 tries.

I made strawberry rhubarb syrup last year, and one year made strawberry butter that was just shy of strawberry leather!

Now that I use the plate test my results are somewhat more consistent. I dunno why I don't get great results with my candy thermometer--I think it is "off" somehow.

I'm no expert and mine have jelled though with low sugar recipes they are a soft set. I do as Lpink does, two plates in the freezer to test with.

Also if your peaches were dead ripe/over ripe the set won't be as good as if there were a few not quite ripe ones in the mix.

Ah, that may have been part of the problem -- these were explodingly ripe!

Well; you live, you learn. And if you try a lot of things, you learn a lot more. Thanks for the advice all!

My plums and nectarines were all on the firm side of ripe. I had to pick and process when I had the time.

I shared the Peach Jam with Rum but it came from Helen Witty (with slight modifications). If you do use it make sure you let it age at least 6 weeks (unless you're inordinately fond of rum, LOL). It will mellow with time.

I have made more kinds of jam and more jars of jam than I care to think about and I've never had that much luck with the "sheeting test". The plate test is my favorite.

Definitely remember that the more fruit ripens the less the pectin because pectin is in the cell walls and with ripening the cell walls collapse, so if you have dead-ripe peaches, that's a recipe for failure. At the very least, you need 25% under-ripe fruit to assure a set.

However, syrup is not a bad thing as it can also be used many ways. Taste is the primary factor.

Carol

Alison, we just finished judging at our fair. That peach jam would have ribboned for sure....it's gorgeous. The one peach entry we got was, ummmm...insipid.

I am NOT good at testing the gel with the sheeting test or the plate test (never been good at soft spreads in general). I use a candy thermometer. I didn't do well with that until I figured out that I needed to adjust the gel temp for my altitude. I was cooking it six degrees past my gel point so it was always hard.

I label the runny ones 'Ice Cream Topping', hehe.

Thanks Carol! I was sure it was you..but then I was second guessing myself..It's so devine...I have a jar I've been working on for MONTHS in my fridge..I love it, and I don't taste the rum at all now..it's just so good!

Well this was timely, I have most of a box of peaches from Costco sitting in the garage to make peach butter. I read this post and found that I've let them ripen past the point of firming up. I don't want to waste them, especially when I can use frozen peaches to make jam!

I also use the plate test, but when I started doing the no-pectin recipes I used a thermometer as backup, not trusting my own judgment.

Peach syrup is great on pancakes and french toast, BTW, and also good on pound cake or to just dip toast into. That's how Ashley likes it, jam on every bite.

as for the overcooked stuff, I still have a couple of jars of pear taffy that I need to get rid of, I guess I'll just throw it away....

It happens to all of us, jam casualties, LOL.

Annie

jam casualties. Yup, you're right Annie. It happens to all of us.

I should have clarified when speaking of less pectin in overripe fruit that I was referring primarily to traditional no-commercial-pectin preserves. Peaches don't have much pectin at the best of times. (They're also low-acid.) Without commercial pectin the condition of the fruit is critical.

But you could use commercial pectin and improve the odds considerably. The problem with commercial pectin, though, is you also need more sugar for the pectin to "work." (I know, it's counter-intuitive.) Therefore the jam tends to have less of the true fruit flavor.

Unless you use Pomona Pectin. You could jell water with that and can use as much or as little sugar as you like. I don't care for Pomona, but it does have its uses.

Carol

Great thread! I had no idea that some underripe fruit was key to a firm set, so I'm grateful for the info!

Emily

Riper fruit adds more liquid to the mix, which makes it take longer to cook down to the right consistency too. The liquidy jams I've made turned into ice cream or yogurt topping.

Don't worry Alison, you'll have the hang of it before long.

I gave up on pectins etc., cut waaaay back on the sugar and now go by 'feel'. If the mixture starts really bubbling when I stir it, I know most of the water has been boiled out and the jam/preserves will firm up when cool. Right, Gina?

So it's blueberry/raspberry this weekend -- I'll have my freezer plates at the ready and may search out a candy thermometer before I get started. What temp should I shoot for?

I'm defnintely getting a wide mouth canning funnel -- save what finger tips I have left!

And I have to report that the peach jam is a little more satisfying after sitting in the fridge for a bit -- and it was absolutely divine spread on top of plain cheesecake. I couldn't have done a better dessert if I planned it!

My sister just sent me a bunch of coupons for canning jars, so back to the jam wars....

Jessica is right, soon you'll know by how it "feels" and how it looks, in the meantime, expect some delicious experiments in too thick and not thick enough.

If it helps, I like my jam a bit "softer", Dad wanted it to be the consistency of jelly bellies, I swear it was never thick enough. Well, except that pear "taffy".

Annie

Well, I think I got one right -- did another batch of raspberry last night, and gave the jars a tilt as I ran thru the kitchen this morning. The jam seemed to sag into the headspace, rather than run or stay put -- so I'm hoping a little time in the fridge and they will be "just like store boughtn".

I couldn't figure out a way to get too many of the seeds out -- I tried pushing them thru a sieve, but it seemed to take forever -- and I wasn't getting much out. When I rinsed the strainer afterwards, I realized there were an awful lot of seeds stuck in there, so maybe it helped some.

Next up is Carol's Brown Sugar Peach recipe (I already picked up some Myer's dark rum!) And Spiced Blueberry Honey Jam.... and.....

It's 8 degrees above boiling. People think it's 220 degrees, but the jell point actually varies depending upon altitude.

So assuming sea level, 220 would be the set point, 219 a softer set, 221 a firmer set depending upon your preference. Anything above 221 and you're at risk of cement.

It's a good idea to calibrate your thermometer. Put it in boiling water and see if it actually reads 212 (or whatever is right for where you are). If it's off by a degree or two you can allow for that. In jams a degree or two can make a huge difference.

Carol

Thanks for that little calibrating tip Carol, now maybe I can figure out what's up with my thermometer.

Sadly, due to having three jobs right now, canning is not going to happen this season--what a bummer! I even have a student with a veg./fruit farm! Doesn't get any better than that unless you grow your own!