fresh peaches from SC!
When we returned to Cincy from our vacation, we brought back a lot of peaches, purchased at two different roadside peach stands. According to Ryan’s uncle, South Carolina actually produces more peaches than Georgia annually, and I believe by how many peaches came home with us! Even after eating them sliced up (oh, they were so juicy and delicious!), freezing some for smoothies and giving some to my parents, we still had an entire grocery bag full of them, so I decided to use them to make peach preserves. After unsuccessfully searching for a recipe, I determined to just wing it and make one up. It was very easy to make and could probably even be adapted to be a raw jam recipe; just use this one from Kimi as a guideline and adjust to use peaches instead of berries.
As the title suggests, this recipe is very simply containing no pectin or sugar. And since I don’t have canning supplies, I froze mine in Ziploc freezer bags, which will take up very little freezer space! But if you know how and are able to can, go for it. Then it will take up no precious freezer space!
This will go wonderfully spread on coconut flour biscuits and bread (ooo with some almond butter, too!), on top of vanilla ice cream, mixing in yogurt or even alongside custard! It’s even delicious with oatmeal and a splash of cream. Mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. 
Sugar-Free Peach Preserves
8 cups of peeled & sliced peaches
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (supposedly helps retain color)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp stevia extract, or to taste–I didn’t need much because the peaches were very sweet on their own
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring every few minutes to prevent the peaches from burning. After about ten minutes, use a spoon or potato masher to crush the peaches. I also took some of the mixture out–about half–and ran through the food processer to get it a little smoother. You can make it as smooth or as chunky as you prefer.
Turn the heat off and allow to cool for 15 or 20 minutes, then either put in freezer bags (I’d caution against using a generic brand–I know this from experience!) or jars and freeze. I froze ours in one-cup portions because there are only two of us, but you can obviously freeze in larger portions if you have a larger family.
When you want to use the preserves, defrost in the fridge for a day or two, cut off one of the corners of the freezer bag, and pour into a jar or tupperware container. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy on everything from ice cream to yogurt to pancakes and waffles!
This post is linked to Pennywise Platter Thursday & Food Roots.
[...] @ Life in Cincinnati Sugar & Pectin Free Peach Preserves This is a delicious way to have fresh peaches year-round. The honey & stevia sweetened [...]
[...] the energy we use in the kitchen. And then there are two super easy recipes that are frugal too! Homemade Peach Preserves (yes, a very simple recipe) and Homemade Kefir Pops (I’ve made something like this before and [...]
Yum! I love peach everything, especially when there is no sugar involved. Thank you for sharing this in food roots last week. And thanks for all of the links you have been sharing. I am sorry for not commenting sooner.
~Shannon~
[...] w/ peaches & [...]
Great to find a sugar-free recipe for peach preserves. The cost of good preserves and marmalade is only one good reason for making your own, but the sugar control and size of “chunks” are other good reasons. (I like it chunky). Thanks!