A Peachy Day

 

I picked up about 40 pounds of freestone peaches before the weekend. Freestone peaches make canning so much easier because the pits are easy to remove. If you don’t get freestone peaches, you may end up with mush in your hands and just hate canning. Usually peaches need time to ripen before processing them. I believe they prefer to package them while still a bit green to keep them from bruising.

So when I got home, I laid them out on newspaper on the floor, not touching each other, stem side down. That is just how I was taught to do it. After a few days, which was Monday . . . they were nice and ripe, but not too soft, with a hint of yellow and red coloring. It’s a good idea to taste them. How can you  not? 

 

The canner was pulled out from the storage. I filled it with about 6 - 8 inches of water and put it on to boil. I put new lids in a small pot with water and brought them just to a boil. Then turned off the element and let them sit.

When I cleaned out my pantry recently, I decided to use some old mayonnaise jars for canning, because they are smaller and suit our need better at this time. They may not be labelled as proper canning jars, but they fit the wide mouth lids and I know my mom used them because she could not afford canning jars. She did not realize that recycling would become a favoured thing in the future.

While peeling and quartering the peaches, I have the syrup going in a pot on the stove, anywhere from one part sugar to two or three parts water is normal.  For 12 quart size jars, you could mix about 4 - 6 cups sugar and 12 - 14 cups water. Do you want to grab a paring knife once you finish that peach?

 

If they are ripe, the skin comes off easily by dipping them in boiling water for a minute or so. This is easily done by filling a bowl with peaches and pouring the boiling water over top to cover, then draining the water and repeating with the rest of the peaches.

 

When I pack the peaches into the jars, I try to arrange them so that the pitted part is to the inside. Not hard to do by going around the sides and filling the middle up as well. My mayo jar fit three (quartered) peaches – a quart size jar would fit about four peaches.

When I have a few jars packed, I pour the syrup over the peaches, leaving about ¾ of an inch on top. The rim may need a quick wipe with a wet paper towel, before placing the lid on and screwing on the ring until fingertip tight.

I place the jars into the boiling water in the canner and bring them to second boil, then process for 20 minutes at a medium boil.

It is important to remove them with care . . . checking to see if the rings have not loosened while processing. I learned this the hard way and now prefer using good rubber gloves and supporting the jar with a towel underneath, while transferring it to a board on the counter to cool.
When you go to store them you may notice some stickiness from liquid that has oozed out while processing. This is alright, as long as not too much liquid has come out and the jar has sealed. If a jar does not seal, refrigerate it and enjoy it within the next few days.

So much for my peachy day ...

for a complete updated recipe you can check here

more to come ...