Peach Butter
This peach butter recipe cooks ripe fruit low and slow into a glossy, deep amber spread that mounds on a spoon, with no pectin and no canning experience required.
Equipment
- Large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven - For even, slow reduction
- Immersion blender - For pureeing the fruit directly in the pot
- Food mill - (optional) If you prefer to skip peeling and strain out the skins instead
- Long-handled wooden spoon - For stirring and scraping the bottom
- Ladle and wide-mouth funnel - For filling jars cleanly
- Four 8 oz mason jars - With lids, for storage
- Slotted spoon and bowl of ice water - If you plan to blanch and peel
- Large pot - For boiling water to blanch the peaches
Ingredients
- 4 pounds ripe yellow peaches - 1.8 kg, about 12 to 16 medium peaches, preferably freestone
- 1 cup granulated sugar - 200 g
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar - 110 g
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice - 60 ml, about 2 lemons
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and set a bowl of ice water nearby. Cut a small X in the bottom of each peach, then lower a few at a time into the boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and drop them straight into the ice water to stop the cooking. Slip the skins off with your fingers, halve each peach, remove the pit, and roughly chop the flesh.
- Add the chopped peaches and the lemon juice to your wide, heavy pot. Set the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the peaches release their juices and collapse into a loose, soupy mixture.
- Turn off the heat for a moment to reduce splashing. Use an immersion blender to puree the fruit directly in the pot until completely smooth, with no lumps remaining. Alternatively, pass the softened fruit through a food mill and return the puree to the pot.
- Stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. Stir well so the sugar dissolves fully into the warm puree. Hold the vanilla extract back for now.
- Return the pot to low heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring every 8 to 10 minutes, for 60 to 80 minutes, stirring more often and scraping the bottom as it thickens. The butter is ready when it mounds on a spoon and a spatula dragged across the bottom leaves a clear trail for a second or two.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and cook for one more minute. Taste and adjust with a pinch more cinnamon or a small splash of lemon juice if needed. Ladle the hot butter through a funnel into clean jars, leaving about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of headspace. Wipe the rims, add the lids, and let the jars cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
Notes
- Use the ripest fruit you can find. Soft, fragrant peaches are sweeter and break down faster, which shortens cooking time.
- Go wide, not deep. A wide, shallow pan lets steam escape and can cut the cooking time nearly in half compared to a tall saucepan.
- Choose freestone peaches when possible. Yellow freestone varieties break down cleaner and pull away from the pit more easily than clingstone types.
- Stir more as it thickens. Keep the heat low and stir every ten minutes near the end, because peach butter scorches on the bottom quickly.
- Test on a cold plate. Drop a spoonful on a chilled plate; if no ring of liquid seeps out around the edge, it's thick enough.
- Adjust sugar to your fruit. Very sweet peaches may need slightly less sugar, while underripe ones can take a touch more.
- Add spices gradually. It is easy to add more clove or ginger at the end, but impossible to pull it back out.
- Storage: Refrigerate in sealed jars for up to 3 weeks. Freeze with 1/2 inch headspace for up to 6 months. Water-bath can for 10 minutes for shelf-stable jars that keep up to a year.
- Variations: Add 2 tablespoons bourbon with the vanilla, swap cloves for cardamom, double the ginger, halve the sugar, or replace granulated sugar with 3/4 cup honey.
- Slow cooker method: Cook the pureed, sweetened fruit on low with the lid propped open for 6 to 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Nutrition
Serving: 2tbspCalories: 60kcalCarbohydrates: 15gSodium: 25mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin C: 4mg
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