I’m a slow learner sometimes…
I’ve been canning for quite a while now, yet I always seem to inadvertently mop my floors right before starting a new canning project.
(And mind you–mopping does NOT happen frequently at my house!)
It’s like I subconsciously can’t help it.
This week, it was peach butter. Of all the things you can preserve, peaches are one of the stickiest, and I proceeded to splash that sticky peach puree all over my cabinets, countertops, stovetop, and yes, the freshly-mopped kitchen floor.
But it’s all good. The end result was totally worth it, and we’ve been enjoying the results of that sticky afternoon ever since.
What’s the Difference between Fruit Butter and Jam?
Sweet Preservation generously sent me a big box of peaches, so I was left with the agonizing decision: what do I do with them?
There are so many options when it comes to preserving peaches…
- Peach jam or peach butter
- Pies (or making frozen peach pie filling for later)
- Drying them in the dehydrator for snacks
- Canning peach halves with honey and cinnamon for those cold winter’s nights when fresh fruit is scarce
- Or just eating them fresh and letting the juice drip down your chin.
I finally settled on turning them into peach butter. Fruit butters are somewhat related to jams, but they don’t require pectin. They are thick and opaque and absolutely perfect as a spread on homemade bread, or flaky homemade biscuits, or crepes, or waffles, or… you get the picture.
Homemade Peach Butter Recipe
You will Need:
- Fresh, ripe peaches (roughly one pound of peaches per pint… roughly…)
- Sweetener, to taste (optional– I used a bit of sucanat (aka unrefined cane sugar) see notes below)
- That’s it! (Really!)
Start by removing the pits from your peaches and cutting them into quarters.
Toss them in your food processor or high-speed blender, and process until they are smooth. (Be careful not to liquefy them– we are wanting a smooth puree, not peach juice)
Now we need to cook the puree so it reaches the perfect consistency. You have two options: a slow cooker or a regular ol’ pot on the stove.
Slow Cooker Peach Butter Recipe:
This method takes longer (anywhere from several hours to all day), but requires less babysitting. Simply pour your peach puree into your slow cook, and set it on low. You’ll want to crack the lid open to allow the steam to escape. Otherwise, your peach butter won’t reduce and thicken.
Stovetop Peach Butter Recipe:
This method takes less time, but you need to be there to make sure you don’t get peach butter spewed all over your kitchen. Pour the peach puree in a large stock pot and set it on the stove over medium-low heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning (and splashing) and continue to cook until it reaches the desired consistency (30-40 minutes)
You’ll know your peach butter is done (regardless of cooking method) when it mounds up on a spoon like this:
Perform a quick taste test to see if you need to add sweetener– my peaches were pretty sweet already, so I only added about 1/2 cup of sweetener to my batch. It took the edge off of the sourness without ruining the fresh, peachy flavor.
At this point you can:
- Let the peach butter cool and eat it right away (enlist the help of friends and family members so you don’t engorge yourself with peach butter)
- Pour your peach butter into freezer-safe containers and pop it in the freezer for later
- Can it: Pour the peach butter into sterilized glass pint jars and leave 1/4 inch of headspace. Process the peach butter in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes. My Water Bath Canning Tutorial will walk you through the process if you are a canning newbie!
Kitchen Notes:
- Don’t you have to peel the peaches? You can, and many peach butter recipes call for you to start with peeled peaches, but I found it not to be necessary. You don’t even notice the peel once you puree, and it saves some time. I’m lazy… what can I say? 😉
- What sweeteners can I use? I used sucanat, an unrefined cane sugar, to sweeten my peach butter, but you could also use honey or any other granulated sweetener. Or, if you don’t mind a tart peach butter, just skip the sweetener altogether.
- Can I add spices to my peach butter recipe? Sure! You can add cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger– just taste the butter and add accordingly. I chose to skip the spices because I like the taste of pure peach butter, but you can definitely add your favorite spices to taste.
- Need more canning inspiration, recipes, or jar labels? Head over to SweetPreservation.com!
Old-Fashioned Peach Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- Fresh, ripe peaches (roughly one pound of peaches per pint… roughly…)
- Sweetener, to taste (optional– I used a bit of sucanat (aka unrefined cane sugar) see instructions
- below)
Instructions
- Start by removing the pits from your peaches and cutting them into quarters.
- Toss them in your food processor or high-speed blender, and process until they are smooth. (Be careful not to liquefy them– we are wanting a smooth puree, not peach juice)
- Now we need to cook the puree so it reaches the perfect consistency. You have two options: a slow cooker or a regular ol’ pot on the stove.
- Slow Cooker Version: This method takes longer (anywhere from several hours to all day), but requires less babysitting. Simply pour your peach puree into your slow cook, and set it on low. You’ll want to crack the lid open to allow the steam to escape. Otherwise, your peach butter won’t reduce and thicken.
- Stove top Version: This method takes less time, but you need to be there to make sure you don’t get peach butter spewed all over your kitchen. Pour the peach puree in a large stock pot and set it on the stove over medium-low heat. Stir frequently to prevent burning (and splashing) and continue to cook until it reaches the desired consistency (30-40 minutes)
- Perform a quick taste test to see if you need to add sweetener– my peaches were pretty sweet already, so I only added about 1/2 cup of sweetener to my batch.
- Now eat and enjoy, or freeze or can for later.
Homemade peach butter is one of the best ways to enjoy the taste of fresh peaches in the middle of winter. And as you are eating it, you can reminisce about how your bare feet stuck to the floor as you were making it in your sticky kitchen. 😉
Peach butter is one of my favorite canning foods! I think it tastes so much more PEachy then a peach jam. I haven’t made it in a few years, and I miss it, so I made plans with some friends to have a canning frolic this coming weekend to stock our pantries with peach butter, peach pie filling, and any other peachy goodness we can come up with. Thanks for the ideas!
You betcha Megan!
It looks wonderful Jill, and I can’t wait to try it! I love your blog, especially the essebtial oil recipes! So great, every single one! But please peel those peaches! Iuse the peelings to make jelly! Just simmer those peelings for about an hour or so , strain and use that juice! You can have peach butter and peach jelly from the same peach! I use Pomona’s Universal Pectin to make low sugar recipes. It has no dextrose or preservatives. They jell great with any kind of sugar, sweetener or honey and it’s vegan, gluten free and non-GMO. Keep up the great work and blogs! Please give us some more essential oil skin care recipes! Yours are fabulous!
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Is there a time range in the slow cooker? Several hrs is pretty vague and can it be on high for this to cook faster?
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It looks wonderful Jill, and I can’t wait to try it! I love your blog, especially the essentiall oil recipes! So great, every single one! But please peel those peaches! I use the peelings to make jelly! Just simmer those peelings for about an hour or so , strain and use that juice! You can have peach butter and peach jelly from the same peach! I use Pomona’s Universal Pectin to make low sugar recipes. It has no dextrose or preservatives. They jell great with any kind of sugar, sweetener or honey and it’s vegan, gluten free and non-GMO. Keep up the great work and blogs! Please give us some more essential oil skin care recipes! Yours are fabulous!
★★★★★
You can also freeze tat juice until you have time to make the jelly!!
I have a recipe for peach butter that I made decades ago and I couldn’t find the book anymore. So I looked at several recipes and this one looked the simplest, Because it shouldn’t be hard. I added about a third of a cup of sugar to 2 pounds of peaches. My peaches were sweet enough and definitely juicy. Mine took almost an hour of cooking till I got it to the right consistency that pleased me.
My peach butter came out wonderfully! Wish I had more features to make more. I remember using this for grilled chicken and pork chops. You have to try that it’s excellent.
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That’s awesome!! So glad your peach butter came out so well for you! 🙂
Do you peel the peaches?
My mother and I canned fresh peaches every summer. She had a cone shaped Ricer in a tripod stand, with a wooden pestle that you used in it to squish the peach pulp through the holes. I remember she would use the too green peaches, the bruised pieces and just remove the pit and let it cook down. After ricing it, she would cook it longer until desired consistency. We’d fill the jars, and she would top off each jar with melted wax. She never water bathed any, but I’m 66, so that was probably 45-50 years ago. We would ride the flat bed wagon pulled by tractors, into the orchard and pick 5-6 bushels of peaches each year. Then spend about the next week processing the peaches in jars, frozen containers, and jars of butter. I have tried to find the recipe she used which I’m sure came from a Kerr canning book. I recently acquired a river, stand,etc, and am hoping to find some good fresh peaches from one of the few remaining orchards in our area. Years ago there were probably 10 or more orchards aroun, but some type of grind water contamination killed all trees.
Well I tried it out today. Bought 8lbs of peaches at $2 a pound. Puréed and cooked on stovetop. Took 21/2 hrs not 30-40 min as indicated in recipe and ended up with 4 pints. Expensive and timely
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Well if you increase the amount by that much of course it will take a lot longer to cook! *shakes head*
How did George “increase the amount”? The instructions clearly say –> (roughly one pound of peaches per pint… roughly…)
…and there’s no batch size described. Since she added 1/2 cup of sucanat to her batch, I’m pretty sure we can assume the batch was bigger than 1 pound/pint (1/2 cup of sugar in a pint of peach butter would be ludicrously over-sweetened).
^*shakes head*^
I’ll be making this tomorrow, and my batch will be even bigger than Georges. I hope I get 1-pint-per-pound, but since I like my butters really thick, I’m guessing Georges results of 1/2 pint per pound might be realistic.
‘Glad to find a recipe using the skins! THANK YOU, JILL!
Would the processing time be different if I used pint jars? I have a huge family and a half pint will last 10 seconds ?
yes, you need to process (boil) the pint sized for 20 minutes…that is how I do it and never had a problem
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Do you need to add lemon juice to the peach butter for canning?
YUM!!!! Peach season is probably my favorite season, and I cannot wait for all of the peachy, yummy goodness!
Making this today! Thank you!
It looks so delicious. I haven’t made any for a few years. I like pear, apple, and pumpkin butter, too.
meeee too!
I tried Peach Butter for the first time last year when I bought a jar to make Peach Butter Muffins. I loved it just by itself, without the muffins! I am expecting a bushel of peaches next week and will definitely be trying this recipe.
Oh my… those muffins sound heavenly!
Yum! Looks delicious. I need to get my hands on some peaches and make some now! 🙂 The kids would love it. Thanks for posting this!
Could I use Brown sugar and can this?
Yes! 🙂
Hi,
This is totally off-topic, but I’m dying to tell you!!!!!
I’m 14 and I just used all my money to buy a Jersey milk cow:) I need to breed her first, so no milk for awhile, but still super excited! And I’m very grateful for you “Keeping a Family Cow” post; and by the way I love your blog!!
That is AMAZING Joanne!! I’m so impressed. 🙂 I bought my first horse at 14, so we have that in common. Enjoy your cow!
6 jars in the canner right now : Great recipe! Thank you
Wow … wish I’d read this before I blanched and peeled 15 pounds of peaches last week for peach butter – would have saved me some serious time. Alas, there’s always next year, and for now I have several half-pints and a couple of pints of peachy goodness sitting on my shelves, for myself and for Christmas gifts. I made mine in the oven – baked at 250 for about five, six hours, then pureed with a stick blender and added sweetener and spices.
Yes! I’m always lazy about peeling stuff. 🙂
If you are baking in the oven, the skins will just slip off when they are done. I bake peach halves in my toaster oven (not so much heat in the kitchen) then slip the skins before serving with a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon, love them topped with a bit of unsweetened heavy cream.
How much time appx will it take to make this in the crockpot?
Hi! Just made this yesterday and love it! I was wondering how long is this good for after being canned,a year? Also after I open a jar that was canned how long is it good for in the fridge? A week maybe? Thanks!!
How do you keep it bright? Mine is more brown than golden like yours. Thanks
You can add lemon juice– or sometimes it just darkens, which is OK.
Do you add the lemon before cooking in the crock?
Might be a silly question…(there’s no such thing, right?) once the peach butter is done and you have put in jars..what next? Do I freeze, water bath! Etc..love reading about your journey in life…?
Thank you for your simple and tasty recipe! Every other recipe calls for other ingredients like spices and I really wanted the peach flavor to come through! I used about 8 Colorado peaches, some smaller and some very large. I used the slow cooker method and it still seems a bit watery even with the lid off but it is so good! I added 1/4 cup sugar and the butter is plenty sweet. Thanks again!
Yes– I don’t like masking the fresh peach flavor either!
That wasn’t very nice.
How many pints did the 8 peaches make?
I had the privilege, (before moving too far away), to work with my Grandmother as an adult in her garden and kitchen. I learned to can, garden, compost, make jams, jellies and fruit butters, pie crust for freezer pies. We made pear butter, peach butter and apple butter and jellies. We liked peach, raspberries and strawberries better as freezer jam.
Some things we did with peaches and the like…We loved a bit of nutmeg in our peach butter. If you like nutmeg it is awesome! Grandma used a bit of acv in her apple butter and it lasted for years! We loved lots of spice in this so we had plenty of cinnamon, cloves, and a hint of nutmeg here as well. We used a little nutmeg in the pear butter,too. Of course, when it was apple season, we made it all! My Grandmother never wasted anything! So we cored, peeled, and sliced or cut the apples depending on what we were making. Very thin slices for freezer pies. Chunks for canned apples or for apple butter. We made canned apples both plain and with cinnamon. All of the stuff you might “throw away” goes into a pot with just enough water to cover and cook it to death! Put it in a light cotton cloth bag or doubled up cheese cloth and let it drain into the bowl and this is what you make your jelly with. We made plain and yes, cinnamon. We liked red hots before we knew how bad they were. Now would use cinnamon oil. My Grandmother is still alive she is 101yrs old and is still reading and quilting and cooking when she gets my Aunt out of the way 😉 She is a true gift and thanks for letting me go down memory lane! I will treasure those days forever!
Such priceless memories! <3
Hi Barb Could you tell us more about the red hots? I bought a farmhouse here in Canada, Ontario where the lady of the house apparently was known for making a fruit pie in the shell in no time flat, and would give everyone a pie that visited…even a repairman After I bought this farm, I heard the story repeated over again…and reading about your Gran brought this back.
I can’t place red hots, and perhaps they are not local to this area. I too had a Gran that used nutmeg even in her shortbread (from Scotland or the Old Country) “a pookie” which we interpreted as a pinch…..
Have peaches on now, and wish I had a use for the pits (laetrile??)
Thanks for all the memories
Georgia
Hello,
And thank you for this recipe.
I’m not sure I understand the difference between peach jam and peach butter. Is it the amount of sugar added? I know that there is natural pectin in all fruits, and in the past, people didn’t add any pectin to jams, just sugar.
To me, the difference between jam and butter is the consistency & amount of fruit. When I think about jams, what comes to mind is jelly with “stuff” in it. There is some translucence to it. With butters, there’s no translucence. It’s just mashed, reduced fruit. In the past, people didn’t add pectin to jam, but they might add apple or grape juice – both high in pectin.
Well, I don’t know how accurate all that is, but it’s my two cents. 🙂
This link is helpful: https://www.mrswages.com/the-difference-between-a-jelly-jam-chutney-marmalade-and-fruit-butter/
No need to mop the floor until the kids start sticking to it.
AMEN!
I know this is late in the game, but I just canned this up and it was wonderful! I did make a change. After making vanilla cantaloupe jam I had one more vanilla bean left. They don’t last long after you open the bottle, so I cut it opened and scrapped the seeds into the slow cooker. It is still full of peachy goodness, but with a slight hint of vanilla. Very good!
OH YUM!
Perfect timing! I just got a bunch of peaches from a neighbor & was wondering what to do with them. She told me that they’re hard to peel, so I thought I’d wait a couple days & see how they do. But peaches go from perfect to over-ripe SO fast! I love the idea of not peeling them – I’m lazy too! 😉 Looks like I’ll be making peach butter tomorrow morning! Thanks so much for your great recipes & inspiration!
Three cheers for lazy peach butter! 🙂
I’m not a lazy cook but I don’t like peelings tomatoes or fruits. I always think, why am I throwing away the most nutritious part? So thanks for the encouragement to not do that 🙂
Exactly!
This recipe came up in a Google search with one star, but wow, this is NOT a one star recipe! Really easy to make compared to the work of peeling, and leaving a slow cooker on was great for multi-tasking while canning. Thank you for writing great description & steps!
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When canning it, do you add lemon or an acid? If so, how much?
Gotta do this but think I will use my new Food Strainer and Sauce Maker which will also remove the skins with a little cranking. Works well for apple sauce.
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Thank you for posting this recipe. I have never canned before. This summer I joined a CSA to get local veggies and fruit. After finding your recipe I tried it and canned the results. It is an amazing recipe! The peach flavor is fantastic.
I have been on the GAPS diet so I did not add sugar. After tasting the peach butter, I did not add any spices.
Thank you for the post.
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Can you use arrowroot starch to thicken since it has no flavour and is natural?
Wow, this recipe is so simple and simply perfect. I added 1tbsp of demerara sugar (for 6lbs of peaches) and that’s all it needed. I still here a ton of peaches left and might make more tomorrow. Thank you.
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We have a peach tree on our new farm, and I can’t wait to try this recipe! Seems like one of the easiest ways (no peeling!!) to preserve the peachy goodness, and with minimal sweetener/extra ingredients.
Making this today. Question: if I continue to ‘sample’ when I stir the crockpot, will there be any left to can? lol
I love it a receipt that calls for splendid. I can’t eat anything with sugar. I know you cannot cook with it. It does not like heat. I learned that after trying to make fudge and one kind of blackberry jam. Had to use freezer jam recipe . When would you add the Splenda to your recipe to make sure the butter thicken? Have 2 boxes of Colorado peaches I am dying to make into peach butter. Also if I use my slow cooker does it matter if I keep it on low or can I have it on high if I watch it?
Look on Amazon for Lakonto which is a great sugar substitute. It’s from Japan – no glycemic impact as it’s made with erythritol and monk fruit. You can bake with it exactly like sugar and there’s no aftertaste. There.s a brown sugar version, too. Also keep your eyes open at TJ Maxx in the food section.
I was looking for a peach butter recipe to help make my way through a rather large box of peaches, and I was sent a link to here. I loved that you did not have to peel the peaches, so I made two batches – one just peaches and maple syrup, and it was really good. But, I had to experiment and the second batch I added a vanilla bean and some balsamic vinegar at the end (my mom always put vinegar in her apple butter). It was even better!
Can you tell me how to best preserve peaches to be used in fried pies? I’m not sure what consistency is best. And is freezing or canning (or dehydrating) best? I have a dehydrator that I purchased just for fruit (hearing that is a great way to preserve and dehydrated fruit is best for fried pies…). I just look at because I’m not sure what to do with it now or how to “rehydrate” the fruit to use in fried pies later. Peaches are really the only fruit I have ready access to in abundance in the summer! TIA!
Hi Jill, just made a lug of peach butter today. To keep it pretty use Fruit Fresh from Ball canning 1 TBSP per 6 cups puree. Did not peal peaches and cannot see the peal in the peach butter. Also I have used a Simmer Mat from Lehmans catalogue for last 25 years when canning or making soup, etc on the stovetop. Never have had a scorched soup or fruit etc when canning to a rolling boil to thicken. Works on electric, glass top, and gas top. Especially thought you would like to know since you were just at Lehmans this summer!!. Thanks, Kathy in Omaha 8/21/19
Oh and 1/4 th cup honey for every 6 cups peach puree. Yummy!!! Kathy 8/21/19
Oh and 1/4 th cup honey for each 6 cups peach puree. Yummy!
Hi Jill! Some of my fondest memories were growing up on a farm as a kid and getting the spoons and pots to clean up after the canning was done. I personally just started canning last summer. I canned apple butter last year. My sister has peach trees and she canned them this year. On a whim, I looked for a peach butter recipe and found yours. As a novice canner, it was perfect for me. It was very easy and tastes great! I made 3 pints and had a little left over to snack on. I figured this recipe would be great as I already made your Roasted Poblano salsa and it was great. I am also using your biscuit recipe.
Oh, how fun! Thank you for sharing your memories with us! I love when food is attached to special memories.
Forgot to add that I peeled the peaches and made jelly with them and then just added the peels back into the Peach Butter.
I wonder if it can be used to make fruit jerky… I’ll have to try it next peach season!
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I would like to add some heat to my peach butter….could u add habanero puree to the mix( less then a half cup) or could I chop them and place in a cheese cloth to simmer? Has anyone ever tried this?
I tried to make this recipe and it turned out very runny. Can you please help me with a fix to thicken it so I can can this up. It smells and tastes great just to runny.
This is my question too, so I hope somebody will answer! I have made several batches in my crockpot and while it tastes great, I can’t get it any thicker than applesauce. Help!
You’ll want to crack the lid open to allow the steam to escape. Otherwise, your peach butter won’t reduce and thicken. Also, the longer it cooks, the thicker it gets, so if it isn’t thick enough, add more time. Finally, it should thicken a bit more after it cools.
I use canned peaches , Put in blender and then in crockpot. It is delicious but what I want to know is can I freeze a pint jars of peach butter?
Questions! This is so yummy *but* I cooked it for about 8 hours and it still did not get as thick as I would have liked. Does it thicken as it cools?
Also, can I refrigerate the butter and then reheat carefully the next day to can it?
I am making peach butter today but it’s a little different here. I live in Alaska and getting fruit here is almost impossible. If we do have it at the store it is either rotten or hard as a rock and so expensive it doesn’t fit in the budget. So I buy a couple cans of peaches, pairs, or apricots when I can until I have enough to make a batch of peach butter etc. I open the cans rinse the fruit throw it in the blender and proceed as directed above.
If you live here you have to get creative, and the whole family loves it. Especially this time of year when we have three feet of snow on the ground.