Canned Peaches

It’s a peach-a-thon here at our homestead.  In Kentucky if you grow peaches, right now you are swimming in peaches.  I am eating, sleeping and breathing peaches these days.

I do all sorts of fun things with peaches, but one of the must haves on those storage shelves for winter is canned peaches.  They’re simple.  When you open a jar of canned peaches in the dark days of winter you open a little piece of summer.

Canning peaches is so easy.  I use the cold pack method, which is the easiest of all.  Cold packing involves peeling, removing pits & shoving the peaches in jars.  That’s pretty much it.  I also happen to not care if my peaches look pretty in the jars which makes this easy process even easier.

Here’s the overview to canning peaches:

1. Remove peels and pits
2. Cram in jars
3. Cover with syrup
4. Adjust lids & process in hot water bath

No brainer.

The nice thing about canning peaches is that you can can 10 or 50 or 200 peaches.  The process is the same & it’s not any harder to do more.  You’ll just need more syrup.

I use light syrup.

Let’s Can some Peaches!

First, make the syrup.

2 1/4 cups sugar to 5 1/4 cups water.  Heat on stove top until sugar is dissolved.

Keep syrup warm.  You will want it hot when you ladle it over the peaches.

You could spend half of your day peeling peaches or you could go grab some kids to blanch them for you.  🙂

Can Peaches Step 1 – Remove Peels & Pits

The process is pretty simple.  Drop 8 peaches at a time into boiling water.  Let them simmer for a minute or two.  Immediately move them into ice water & then slip off the skins.  If my kids can do it, I’m pretty sure you can too.

Once they’re naked, just cut them in half and remove the pit.

Can Peaches Step 2 – Pack into Jars

Then stuff them into the jars.  You would not believe how many peaches can be crammed into a quart jar.  Lots of peaches.  Keep cramming them in there.  The more peaches you manage to get into the jar, the less syrup you will use.

Can Peaches Step 3 – Ladle hot Syrup over peaches

When you can’t get another peach into the jar, ladle the hot syrup over them leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Be sure to remove air bubbles by sliding a knife down all the sides & center.

Leave 1/2 inch headspace at the top.  This allows some space for the suction that holds those lids on tight & keeps everything fresh.

For step by step introduction to water bath canning go here.

Can Peaches Step 4 – Adjust lids & Process in Hot Water Bath

Wipe the rims, adjust the lids and process quarts in a hot water bath – pints for 25 minutes,  quarts for 30 mintues.

You now have a slice of summer to eat all winter long!

Canned Peaches

• Peaches
• Syrup

Peel peaches & remove pits.  Pack tightly into jars.  Cover peaches with syrup leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove any air bubbles.  Wipe rims.  Adjust lids & rings.  Process in hot water bath= pints 25 minutes, quarts 30 minutes.

To get weekly updates, tips and recipes subscribe via email (here).

Happy Canning!

Candi