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Canning Peaches At Home

Prep Time:

45 minutes

Cook Time:

25 minutes

Serves:

42

Level:

Beginner

About the Recipe

Ingredients

30 ripe peaches large



  • 12 cups water



  • 1/4 cup Fruit-Fresh


Preparation

Prepare for Canning

  1. Sterilize canning jars by running them through a cycle in the dishwasher.

  2. Place the canning lids in a large saucepan of hot water and simmer until ready to use.

  3. Prepare a large pot of water and bring it to a boil on the stove.

  4. Fill the sink with cold water, or prepare a large bowl of ice water.

  5. In another large pot, combine the 12 cups of water and 6 cups of sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add ¼ cup Fruit-Fresh and set aside for later.


Prepare the Peaches

  1. Carefully place several peaches in the large pot of boiling water. All peaches should be totally covered by water.

  2. Set a timer for one minute. Remove the peaches from the boiling water and place them in the sink filled with cold water, or in an ice water bath. Repeat this process until all the peaches are in the cold water.

  3. Add 1 quart of cold water and ½ cup of lemon juice to a large bowl. At this point, peeling the peaches should be easy. The peach skins should slide off without even using a knife. If the peach is less ripe, it may require a little peeling. Cut the peaches in half or slice them and remove the pits.

  4. Place the halved or sliced peaches in the large bowl filled with water and lemon juice. Stir the peaches into the water and lemon juice as you slice them to avoid discoloration.


Canning the Peaches

  1. Place the sterilized jars right side up on a large cookie sheet. This helps keep spills to a minimum.

  2. Pour 1 cup of the light syrup into each jar. Fill each jar with the halved or sliced peaches. Use a slotted spoon or ladle to remove peaches from the bowl of lemon water. Leave ½ inch headspace at the top of each jar.

  3. Add more syrup to fill the empty spaces between the peaches and to cover the fruit. There should still be ½ inch unfilled space at the top of each jar. You will likely have some light syrup left over after filling the jars.

  4. It's important to get all of the trapped air bubbles out of the jar before it seals. Slide a clean knife down the inside of the jar in four or five places to release the bubbles. Clean any liquid from the rims of the jars with a clean towel before placing the heated lids on the jars.

  5. Use a magnetic lid wand or fork to carefully remove a canning lid from the simmering water on the stove. Do not dry it or touch the lid with your bare hands. It will be hot and you don't want to contaminate it. Place it directly on the top of the jar as pictured. Tighten the screw bands firmly on each jar.


Processing the Peaches

  1. Fill a water bath canner ½ full with warm water. Place the jars on the wire rack and lower the jars into the canner. Add more water to cover the jars with 1 inch of water above the jars.

  2. Cover with a lid, and watch for it to boil. Once it reaches the boiling point, reduce to a medium to medium-high heat. The water should still be boiling, but not at a raging boil that makes a sauna in your kitchen and a mess on the stove. Set a timer for 25 minutes for elevations of 0-1,000 feet (Check exact processing times for your elevation on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website).

  3. When the time is up, remove the jars from the boiling-water canner and let them cool on a counter in a non-drafty area.

  4. Once jars have cooled, make sure they have sealed properly and store them in a cool, dark place.


Recipe Tips:

  • To prevent browning, toss your peeled, sliced peaches with Fruit Fresh or a lemon juice mixture before canning (see how in recipe below)

  • Blanch your peaches to easily remove the peels. Use a knife to easily pull the peels away from the fruit.

  • Add a little lemon juice to each jar before adding the peaches to ensure you reach safe acidity levels for canning.

  • Halved peaches take up for space in the jars than sliced. If you are planning on halving your peaches you may need to use more jars.


Canning Peaches In Winter

During the cold winter months, when fresh fruit is hard to come by, these peaches are so refreshing and the bottles disappear quickly. Peaches contain a bounty of antioxidants which keep the skin clear and slow down the aging process.If you’re a beginner in canning peaches and home food preservation, this is a great easy-to-follow complete guide with tips, tricks and recipes! Canning peaches at home preserves the taste, texture, and quality of fresh peaches.This recipe uses the raw pack canning method, where the peaches are blanched, skinned, sliced and canned in a hot syrup. Another method for canning peaches is the hot pack method, where peaches are cooked for 5 minutes before they are canned. We prefer the raw pack canning method because it is quicker and easier – and you don’t have to handle hot peaches.


Ingredients Needed for Canning Peaches

  • ripe peaches – large 

  • lemon juice

  • water

  • sugar

  • Fruit-Fresh


What are the Best Peaches for Canning?

I like to use the Elberta peaches that come on in September. They are a freestone variety and are easy to work with. Free-stone peaches slip right away from the pit, or stone. Clingstone peaches need to be cut away from the pit, which isn’t a problem either, it just takes a little more work. This recipe works with any traditional yellow varieties of peaches. Do not use white-flesh peaches with this canning method. According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, white peaches are lower in acid than yellow peaches and are not safe to can.The most important thing is to use ripe peaches. If the peach is hard and greenish in color, wait a day or two to do your canning. I often can the ripe ones the first day and wait a day or two to can the rest when they have ripened.


Canning Peaches in Light Syrup

A light sugar syrup is really the best for canning peaches. Too much sugar can overpower the fresh flavor of the peaches. For my recipe, I use a 2:1 water to sugar ratio. I also use Fruit-Fresh, which contains citric acid, to keep my peaches looking bright and to prevent browning. I use 1 teaspoon of Fruit-Fresh per cup of syrup.


Sterilizing the Canning Jars

The best and easiest way I have found to sterilize my glass bottles for canning is to run them through a normal dishwasher cycle. I place the canning jar lids in a pot of warm water and simmer them until I’m ready to use them.


Do Peaches Need To Be Pressure Canned?

No, peaches are not required to be pressure canned. They can be canned using the water bath method or a steam canning method. Many people prefer pressure canning their peaches and that’s ok too! Yellow flesh peaches, in general, can be pressure canned at 6 pounds of pressure for 10 minutes below 2,000 feet in elevation. Be sure to check your pressure canning manual for exact pressure and times depending on your altitude.


For Water Bath Canning

Processing time for water bath canning peaches is 25 minutes for elevations of 0-1,000 feet. Check exact processing times for your elevation on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.


Tips For Canning Peaches

  • To prevent browning, toss your peeled, sliced peaches with Fruit Fresh or a lemon juice mixture before canning (see how in recipe below).

  • Blanch your peaches to easily peel peaches. Use a knife to easily pull the peels away from the fruit.

  • Add a little lemon juice to each jar before adding the peaches to ensure you reach safe ph acidity levels for canning.

  • Halved peaches take up for space in the jars than sliced. If you are planning on halving your peaches you may need to use more jars.


EQUIPMENT


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