How to Can Peaches

You will need:

Fruit

Ladle or cup with a pouring spout

Quart Jars

Sugar

Water

A Water Bath Canner

           

Directions

1. Choose peaches that are ripe and sweet- as ripe as you would like to eat them fresh.

It takes about 5 peaches to fill one quart jar (so you will need about 15 pounds to make 6 quarts).

 

2. Prep the jars and lids

Place the jars in the dishwasher and run it on a hot rinse so they get hot and sanitized. If not you can just boil them for 10 minutes.

 

3. Wash and slice the peaches

Wash the peaches in cold water. Peel them. Slice them and remove the pits. You can either can them as halves or slices.

4. Bring the syrup to a light boil and remove from heat

I pack my peaches in a light syrup. Sugar helps improve flavor, stabilize color and retain  the shape of the fruit.

Syrup Recipe (yields 6 quarts)

2 cups sugar + 6 cups water = 7 cups of syrup

5. Fill the jars

Remove the hot jars from the dishwasher and fill them with the fresh sliced fruit. Pour hot syrup over the fruit and fill until there is only a 1/2 inch headspace (1/2 inch to the top of the jars rim). Remove any air bubbles with a wooden or plastic spoon (do not use metal). Wipe the rim of the jar, add the lid and screw on a band.

 6. Process the jars in a hot water bath

Put the jars in the canner and covered them with water. Boil for 20-35 minutes depending on altitude (we are at 6000 ft and I did them for 30 minutes).

7. Remove and cool

Remove jars from water and cool. Gently press the center of each lid to make sure it sealed before storing in a cool, dark dry place.