Canning Peaches

Preserving peaches is such a fun and easy process. Yes, you do have to peel them, yet it is so quick and painless (hopefully, just make sure to cool the peaches after you blanch them..lol).

Growing up we canned most of our fruit in syrup bases, I found it to be far too sweet for my liking. Although, with peaches because they are naturally so sweet, you actually do not need to add any sweetener, I feel the local honey adds a beautiful zing with the fresh peach I find so delicious.

So, I put these together with a lot less sugar (just a touch of honey) and super easy process! This process is super easy and quick, because I like to use the raw pack method.

What this means:

Hot Pack- filling jars with precooked, hot food prior to processing. Now Note: this process is often preferred as it helps get a tighter pack, reduces floating (less jars).

Raw Pack-

Filling jars with raw, unheated food prior to processing.

Deets://

You will need approx 4 lbs of Peaches

1/4 Cup of Honey

6 Cups of Filtered Water

Juice of fresh lemon

Pinch of sea salt

6-8 Pint Sized Jars, with lids and rings

And a water bath canner

First off here, fill your water bath canner up to where it will cover the jars entirely, I like to start this right away as it takes the water some time to get warm, now you do NOT want this to be boiling yet, just turn it on medium with the lid on and keep a close eye on it. You just want it slightly warm.

Second, place all your lids and rings into a pot with water, place on stove and low-medium heat.

Wash and blanch peaches. Peel peaches; cut in half and pit. Slice into desired sizes chucks. Now again, I use the raw pack method. So, meanwhile you are pitting and slicing your peaches, take the 6 cups of water, bring just to a boil and the honey/sea salt and mix well. You don’t need/want a rolling boil.

I like to keep my clean and sanitized jars in a bowl of HOT water before using them to make sure you aren’t adding hot liquid into a cold jar, as this will break and you will be sad.

Pack fruit into jars leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Drizzle with some fresh squeezed lemon juice, and then ladle hot water over peaches, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Remove the air bubbles with a clean butter knife.

Make sure to wipe the rim of the mason jar to make sure no peach or honey water got onto the rim (this would impact the seal).

Place lid on top and adjust the ring so that it is on, yet not tight.

Process pints for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Enjoy,

And be sure to tag #theoutdoorfoodientp if you make these!

In health,

Amanda