Earlier in the summer, the folks from the Washington State Fruit Commission sent me a glorious box of sweet cherries as part of their canbassador program. In the past, I’ve only gotten a single shipment from them and so I thought that was it for this summer. However, a few weeks ago, they got in touch saying I should expect a shipment of peaches and nectarines.
The box arrived last Tuesday and immediately filled the apartment with the fragrance of ripening summer stonefruit. So far, I’ve made a spicy peach dipping sauce (think homemade ketchup, made with peaches instead of tomatoes), a small batch of oven roasted fruit, and a batch of this spiced nectarine jam.
I’ll tell you more about the other two tomorrow and Thursday, but since I happen to be teaching this particular recipe tonight, it seemed only right to share it today.
Spiced Nectarine Jam
Ingredients
- 10 cups chopped ripe yellow nectarines
- 5 cups of sugar
- 4 tablespoons powdered fruit pectin
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 lemons zested and juiced
Instructions
- Prepare a boiling water bath canner and enough jars to hold 5 pints of jam.
- Place chopped nectarines into a large, non-reactive pot that can hold at least 6 quarts.
- Measure out sugar and whisk in the pectin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add the spiked sugar to the fruit and stir to combine. Let the fruit sit for a few minutes, until sugar starts to dissolve and begins to look syrupy.
- Place pan of fruit on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Cook at a rapid boil for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fruit softens.
- Once the fruit is quite soft, use a potato masher to break the fruit down into smaller pieces. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Continue to cook until the jam has thickened and passes set tests.
- Remove jam from heat and funnel into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for ten minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from canner and place on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars are cooled, check the seal by pressing on the top of the jar. If there’s no movement, the jar has sealed. Store up to one year in a cool, dark place.
Did you peel the nectarines?
Nope. If I want you to peel the fruit, I include that step in the recipe.
I left the peels on and they practically disintegrated and made the jam an adorable pink colour. SOOOOOO delicious!!!
Are the lemon juice and zest used for anything?
Oops! Thanks for catching that omission. I’ve updated the recipe.
This jam is great! Like Christmas in July. I cut this into two batches, as I wanted to try just a plain nectarine jam. Thus skipped out on the pectin. Both batches turned out great! But don’t be afraid of the spices, I was worried that the summer fruit and winter spices wouldn’t be my thing. But its just what some oatmeal, yogurt, or even some stinky cheese could use!
This sounds really good. Wonder if it could be adapted to no sugar/ stevia Pomona pectin version.
Honestly, I don’t like to can with stevia, because it doesn’t lend any preservation power. I would do a low sugar version like this one, though. https://foodinjars.com/2014/08/low-sugar-spiced-peach-jam/
About how many whole nectarines equal 10 cups?
I don’t know. They come in so many different sizes that there’s no way to tell. You need to start with about 5 pounds of fruit.
Just made this, and it’s awesome! The warm flavors of the spices mix perfectly with the fruit. Definitely one I will make again! Thanks Marisa!
P.S. I’ve been quite busy since going to your presentation at the Margaret Heggan Library Monday night. Thanks so much for all the great information!
So glad you like it! And thanks for coming out to the demo on Monday!
Do I need to add pectin I’d I only add sugar and avoid the other spices?
Yes.
Total crowd pleaser!
Spice is perfect and it works with winter nectarines without much flavor.
I don’t think it needs anywhere near this much sugar…but it is certainly delicious!
Can you make with liqud pectin? How much liquid equals two tablespoons of powdered pectin? Also, can you freeze instead of can recipe?
Pectin swap info: https://foodinjars.com/2013/07/canning-101-how-to-substitute-pectin/
You can always freeze rather than can. Just leave more headspace and use straight sided jars.
Delicious recipe.Thank you! Have a Golden Day!
Thank you for the recipe, my nectarine jam came out really beautiful and delicious!
I’m so glad you like it!