Preserving Peaches

I love summer and harvest season. In the Pacific Northwest, we have an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables available to preserve through canning, freezing, and dehydrating. Right now, peaches are in season. We picked up two boxes (20 pounds each) on our way home from the eastern side of the state last week.

I have a feeling those two boxes were only the start of my peach preserving. From these boxes, I was able to can 6 quarts of peach pie filling and 18 pints of sliced peaches. When our boys were young, I canned peaches in quart jars in order to serve all of us. But now there are only two of us, the pint jars are a better size.

Canning Tools

There are some tools beyond your basic kitchen utensils that are needed to can fruit. I have listed them below and this is a link to my favorite canning website‘s recipes and tutorial page. These products can be purchased at local retailers or may be available on Amazon. These items are a one-time investment except for the flat lids. They must be purchased new each time to ensure that your jars seal properly and don’t allow toxins to grow during storage.

• Ball Canning Book
• Jars, lids, and rings
• Water Bath Canner
• Basic Canning Kit

Preparing Jars, Lids, and Rings

It is important to wash and sanitize jars before you use them. I use the sanitizing cycle on my dishwasher. Jars should be hot when you fill them with fruit and hot syrup so they do not break. I often wash them overnight the evening before canning. Just before using the jars, I heat them in a sink of clean, hot water.

Jar rings are reused each year until they start to show signs of rust. Then I toss them. I have a deep popcorn can with a lid to store the lids all in one place so they are ready when I need them. There are two sizes of jar openings–regular and wide-mouth. Be sure that you buy the correct size of lids for your jars. If you need to purchase jars for canning, they come with a set of lids and rings. After the initial use, only the flat lids need to be replaced each time they are used.

Peeling Peaches

Peaches are easy to peel. Click on this link to watch a short video tutorial. Using hot water to loosen the peels allows you to easily pull the peel off. I have a very large stainless steel bowl that I put the peaches into after they are peeled. I fill the bowl with cold water and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice to keep the peaches from turning brown between peeling and processing.

Preparing Peaches

I choose to slice my peaches for peeling so that I can fit more peaches in each jar. Peach are often canned in halves. If you can them in halves, you will need to use wide-mouth jars so you don’t bruise or squish the peaches getting them into the jars. If you are slicing the peaches, either size of jar openings will work.

Traditional canning uses simple syrup (1 to 3 cups of sugar to 3 cups of water) to cover the peaches and preserve them. Since we need to watch our sugar consumption, I choose to use juice to can the peaches. I used either white grape or apple juice because they don’t have strong flavors when diluted with water. I used the same ration for juice as for light syrup–one cup of juice to three cups of water. Heat to almost boiling in a large pan on the stove. I usually make a double batch each time so I have enough to complete a whole canner of jars.

Processing Peaches

According to the directions in the canning book, fill the jars with peaches. Using a funnel, cover the peaches with your light juice mixture leaving head space at the top. Wipe the rim of the jar, top with lid and secure with a ring. Place in a water bath canner that has a rack in it and a few inches of warm water. Most water bath canners will hold seven quarts or nine pints. After the canner is filled with jars, add hot water to cover the jars with an inch of water above the tops.

Bring the water in the canner to a boil and then start the timer. The time for processing in the boiling water bath will depend on the type of fruit your are canning as well as the size of your jars. Consult your canning book to make sure you time it correctly. While jars are processing, prepare a place for the jars to cool. I use a cookie cooling rack covered with a double-layer of kitchen towels. When the water bath is complete, use a jar lifter to remover jars from the canner and place them on the towels. Do not move jars or touch the lids until jars have cooled completely. The lids will make a popping sound as they seal.

Peach Pie Filling

My husband loves peach pie. So I can pie filling to make him pies during the winter without paying off-season or frozen prices.I don’t make sugar-free pie filling because I have not found a satisfactory recipe for canning. We have just learned to make desserts a treat rather than a common occurrence. I have shared my recipe below.

Pie filling makes a great wedding gift when paired with a pie plate and rolling pin from the couple’s registry. Include the handwritten recipe for the pie crust and baking the pie. ( I recommend using Pillsbury pie crust if pie crust scares you.)

We will be enjoying peaches all year long. I will probably be getting another box so I can make no-sugar-added jam, peach shrub for a refreshing iced beverage, and dehydrated peaches for homemade trail mix.

Thank you for letting me share my heart for home! I hope you will try to preserve some peaches or other fruit this season. It tastes so much better from glass jars and can save money after the initial investment in equipment and jars.

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