Peach Canning
CANNING PEACHES
Canning Peaches is easy, below are the notes of how to succeed.
What you will need:
2 pots of water (one for processing peaches in jars the other for blanching)
Packing syrup: choose the weight you want, mixed and ready at low simmer, this is to cover the peaches with the HOT liquid after filling jars
Bowl of ice water
Pint or quart jars with 2 part lids and rings
You will need to have three pots working on the stove. Two pots will be for just water.
One pot will contain a mixture of syrup that you will be using for covering your peaches before processing. You have a choice of three weights of syrup. They are listed below.
Once syrup is prepared, have at the ready at a slow simmer on stove. You will need it for covering and canning your peaches.
Light Syrup: 2 parts water to 1 part sugar
Mix according to how many batches you will be doing and the size of the jar that you will be canning in. Peaches in this syrup need to be consumed within three months for best taste. The reduced sugar lessens the fruits ability to hold its form and texture.
Medium Syrup: 1 Part Water to 1 part sugar
Mix according to how many batches you will be doing and the size of the jar that you will be canning in. Peaches in this syrup need to be consumed within six months for best taste. The reduced sugar lessens the fruits ability to hold its form and texture.
Heavy Syrup: 1 part Water to 2 parts sugar
Mix according to how many batches you will be doing and the size of the jar that you will be canning in. Peaches in this syrup need to be consumed within one year for best taste. This is the “traditional” way of canning peaches.
Bring two pots of water to a slow boil on the stove.
Make sure that if you are not using a canning pot,(has ridges on the bottom) then you will need to put something on the bottom of the one you will be placing your jars in. ( I place something on the bottom regardless, I like to play it SAFE)
Place in the bottom of the pot that you will be using a footed cake rack. They sell the round ones online at amazon, or at your local craft store like Michaels or JoAnn’s.
Now to begin, take your peaches that have come to room temperature, place them in your hand and score on the bottom with an X using a paring knife. Place them into a boiling water bath until they “blister”, remove with a slotted spoon or ladle and place in ice water to cool. Peaches are HOT out of the water. Remove the skins and pit, cut accordingly and place into jars. If doing halved peaches, place them cavity open side down. Once jars are filled with peaches, top with HOT LIQUID for canning, add your lids and screw on, FINGER tight then ¼ turn.
REMEMBER: Don’t do too many jars in an assembly line fashion, you can only have as many as you can, process in one batch, in the canner you are using. (You may want to see how many fit in the canner before adding water to the canner) Please don’t attempt an assembly line fashion. You can only process what you have room for at a time. Filling the jars and letting them sit before canning will result in the possibility of broken jars when processing.
*Always have HOT BOILING water at the ready to top off the jars if needed. They must have no less than 2” of water covering them during the whole process of canning. IF the water becomes too low, add more boiling water to it.
REMEMBER: IF you use tap water and add to the canner (BWB) you will have to begin your timing all over again once the water returns to a boil. YOUR boil should be like a ravioli boil, slow and steady no ROLLING RAPID BOIL as this can cause too much activation and may result in broken jars and PEACH/Glass Soup!
Hot pack – In a large saucepan place drained fruit in syrup, water, or juice and bring to boil. Fill jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Place halves in layers, cut side down.
Raw pack – Fill jars with raw fruit, cut side down if halves. Then cover with juice, or syrup, leaving ½-inch headspace.
Adjust lids and process.
Processing directions - Processing directions for canning peaches in a boiling-water canner are given in below. **Remember jars cannot come into direct contact with the bottom of the canner, use a footed round cake rack to elevate off the bottom of the canner, or add dishtowels to the bottom for processing. I personally found the cake rack to be the best.
Processing Times
Recommended process time for Peaches, halve, sliced or cubed (diced) in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack
Hot
Raw
Jar Size
Pints
Quarts
Pints
Quarts
0-1000 ft
20 min
25
25
30
1001-3000 ft
25 min
30
30
35
3001-6000 ft
30 min
35
35
40
Above 6000 ft
35 min
40
40
45
Syrup Recipes
Light: 2 parts water to 1 part sugar Very sweet fruit. Try a small amount the first time to see if your family likes it.
Medium: Equal parts of Water and Sugar
Sweet apples, sweet cherries, berries, grapes.
Heavy: 2 parts Sugar to one part water
Tart apples, apricots, sour cherries, gooseberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums.
You may also preserve your peaches with water (though not very tasty) or use white grape juice or apple juice, know though it will change the flavor. Remember you must be sure to bring it to a boil for packing and processing.
Just some tips to keep in mind:
• Tighten screw bands securely, Finger tight then ¼ turn. If you are especially strong, not as tightly as possible… another words don’t TORK it closed, the air needs to escape.
• Process jars and let the water bath sit for 2 mins with fire off before removing. Straight up and down motion, don’t tilt the jars, then cool jars at room temperature out of drafts.
• Store the jars with rings removed in a relatively cool, dark place, preferably between 50°F and 70°F.
• Can no more food than you will use within a 18 months or a year is best.
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