Remember last week when I attempted to can fifty pounds of peaches?
First of all, I did it. Go me!
Second of all, when you buy 40 pounds of peaches at once, there is going to be a lot of bruised fruit. Pick out the good ones for canning in honey or a spiced sugar syrup (below), and turn the bruised ones into jam. Unless you’re into the “super-mushy canned peaches in the middle of December” thing.
And for the record, fifty pounds of peaches will give you approximately 25 half-pint jars of jam and 53 pint jars of peach slices.
That sounds like a lot, I know. But consider this: there are 37 weeks between the beginning of October and the beginning of strawberry season. In those 37 weeks, the only local fruit available will be stored apples. I can only eat so many apples, people! So I’ll be depending on my frozen and canned fruit. Fifty-three jars of peaches means we will have 1-2 jars to eat each week. Sounds about right to me!
But honestly, if I don’t see another peach for the next few days, I’d be okay with that. I’m a little peached-out at the moment.
Adapted from “Canning for a New Generation” by Liana Krissoff
Ingredients
- 8 pounds of freestone peaches
- 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 8 cups water
- 11 cinnamon sticks
- 11 allspice berries
- 22 whole cloves
Instructions
- Pour the lemon juice into a large bowl and fill 3/4 of the way with cold water. Halve, pit and slice the peaches, and put the slices in the lemon water. This will keep the peaches from turning brown.
- Prepare for canning. Wash the jars and flat lids with hot, soapy water. Put the jars in the canning pot and fill the pot with hot water. Heat over medium-high heat to keep the jars hot.
- Note: My canning pot only holds 7 jars at a time, so I did this in two shifts.
- In a large saucepot, bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.
- Line the hot jars up on a folded towel.
- Drop 1 cinnamon stick, 1 allspice berry and 2 cloves into each jar. Pack peach slices into the jars up to an inch below the rim. Pour the hot sugar syrup over the peaches, filling to 1/2" below the rim. Use a clean towel to wipe any syrup off the rims, then top each jar with a lid and a tightened ring. Place the jars back in the canning pot and make sure they are covered by at least 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil and process for 20 minutes. Place the jars on a folded towel and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Check the seals of the lids after 1 hour. If a seal has not formed, refrigerate the jar immediately.
If you’re getting sick of peach recipes on here, never fear: I think I’m done with them for awhile.
Love this spiced version of peaches…lovely color.
I don’t think I can ever get sick of peaches! Great recipe with them again. I still have peaches to use up
I bet you are sick of peaches! 40 lbs is a lot! The stone fruit in our area did really poorly this summer. 10% of normal. Sniff sniff. So no peach canning for me this year. Nevertheless, I am impressed with your effort, as always.
And what, no peach scones???
Your peaches look so good. I may have to try your recipe. I’ve never canned sliced peaches before but they look mouth watering.