Renae is a married mom of two young boys. She loves to garden, can and play outside with her boys. Renae’s passion is teaching other people how to make dollars out of change. Find out more about Renae and he money saving tips at Madame Deals.
Peaches are in season in many parts of the country right now. My family looks forward to juicy sweet peaches every summer. My husband often refers to a perfect peach as “nature’s candy”. We try to preserve all of that sweetness for mid-winter when fresh fruit is harder to come by. Plus, have you ever noticed the price for peaches in mid-winter? Outrageous and they are not nearly as tasty.
For the last three summers I have canned sliced peaches, peach jam and peach salsa. Of course canned peaches are not as great as fresh fruit, but they are still tasty! If you are hesitant about canning, you can freeze sliced peaches. Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper and place the sliced peaches in a single layer. Freeze until they are solid. Then place the peaches in a freezer bag. Frozen sliced peaches are great for smoothies!
I like to use canned peaches for cobblers and crisps. They are excellent mixed with blueberries! Peaches are fairly easy to can. It is a bit time consuming to peel, pit and slice. If you have older kids, get them involved in the process!
Steps for Canning Peaches:
1. Pick or buy peaches. You want firm but ripe peaches for canning. Cling Free peaches are easier to can because the pit is easy to remove. Eleven pounds of peaches makes about 9 pints.
2. Wash Peaches. Place in boiling water for 30-45 seconds to loosen up the skin. Place in ice cold water. The skin should easily peel away from the flesh of the peach. If the skin is difficult to remove, place the peach back into the boiling water.
3. Cut peaches into slices and place in a large boil. Sprinkle with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice as you go. This will keep the peaches from turning brown.
4. As you are preparing the peaches, make sure your jars are sterilizing and the water bath is heating up. I place my clean jars right in the water canner as it heats. The jars will sterilize while the water heats to boiling (love doing two things at once!).
5. When your peaches are ready, you will need to make syrup to pack them in. I like to use light syrup. Heat 6 cups of water on the stove and slowly add in 2 cups of sugar. Heat just to a slight boil and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Place peaches in the simmering syrup and heat for 5 minutes.
6. Pack peaches into hot jars. I like to use pint jars. Pour hot syrup over peaches to fill jar leaving a ¼ inch head room. Place lid on jars.
7. Process pint jars for 20 minutes in boiling water bath.
The most wonderful sound at the end of a long day of canning is … pop, pop, pop! That is when you know your jars are sealed and your fruit is preserved! For more information on canning Pick Your Own is a great resource.
Added tidbit! Have you tried my Peach Cobbler Muffins?? OMG! You really should!
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About Amanda @ A Few Short Cuts
Thank you very much. My mother used to can but I never paid enough attention to her process. My Nephew has a beautiful Peach Tree. Have so many peaches it breaks some quite large branches.
Again, thank you and Have A Nice Day!
Bob T