Millions of peaches…

We just recently completed our inventory supply of peaches that should cover us, ohhh you know, in case there is ever a depletion of peaches over the next 10 or so years… yes, I’m talking a lot of canned peaches! But we mainly canned that many for the sake of getting a great deal on them. Also, I am a big fan of peaches & always seem to crave them over the winter– go figure.

A couple weekends ago, Brian & I ventured over to a farm in Pataskala Ohio called Lynd’s Fruit Farm. We picked some delicious gala apples and afterwards checked out what they had in stock inside their barn building. We were in luck! 5 pecks for $50 special running on their Contender peaches. We were SOLD! We bought our peaches & began preparing for the canning marathon.

Millions of peaches... or just 5 pecks

Which peach to choose?
We chose Contender peaches for a couple of reasons. Reason number 1: The price was right. Reason number 2: Contender’s don’t brown as quickly as other varietes so canning them doesn’t have to be a sprinting marathon (I’m not a runner– but that makes sense, right?).

*Stupid side note*
As I’m canning, I always seem to find a stupid song to sing & often bug Brian with. He’s pretty used to my humor. The song for me was “Peaches” by the Presidents of the USA. Look it up on iTunes if you’re not sure what I’m talking about

The process:
The process is pretty simple but as with any canning… time consuming. It’s always nice working with a partner when it comes to canning too. One person can help with the prepping like washing and slicing, while the other deals with the syrup, warming the peaches in a pan & the canning process. There are two different ways to can peaches. The raw-pack method & the hot-pack method. We chose the hot-pack method.

Supplies:

Water bath canner
Pot for syrup (or water if you prefer)
Skillet for warming peaches
Pot for the peeling of peaches
Bowl with cold water
Jars, bands & lids
Sharp knife
Canning funnel
Jar lifter
Ladle
Spoon
Dishtowels/dish cloth to dry the can rims
Spoons
Spray bottle

Preparing for peach canning

Ingredients:

8 to 12 Ibs of peaches (I think we had around 11 Ibs/peck)
Hot syrup or water (we started with around 5 cups of water- for medium syrup add about 3 cups of sugar to your 5 cups of water. Sugar amounts can vary but for us, we only added a little bit- maybe about 1/2 to 1 cups of sugar)
Spray bottle filled with watered down lemon juice

Step 1: Prepare Jars, Water, and Peaches

I always start by getting the water boiling in the canner first before anything. For us, it takes a long time (sometimes up to 45 mins) to bring our large canner to the boiling stage. I also prepared the syrup (or mostly water for us) by adding 5 cups of water to a pot & some sugar. Also prepare a boiling pot of water for the peeling process. Start preparing your jars for the canning process. Either wash your jars in soapy water or run the dishwasher & let the jars, lids & bands steam dry to help sanitize the jars. We always start with clean jars & heat as many jars as we can in our canner to ensure all bacteria has been killed before starting. We find the dishwasher or canner to work the best. Wash your peaches completely.

Wash peaches to remove any bacteria

Step 2: Peel and Slice the Peaches

To peel the peaches, dip the peaches into boiling water for 1 minute. We used our canning basket to dip the peaches into the water. After 1 minute, remove & place peaches into your cold water bowl. The peaches will be easy to peel after this process. Peel your peaches & slice your peaches into quarters (or however large you want your slices) & remove the pit. We would slice the peaches up & spray the peaches down with a citric acid (water down lemon juice) to avoid the peaches from browning.

Peach heating to aid with peeling

Heat peaches for no more than a minute

After heating, the peaches should peel very easily

Step 3: Heat the Peaches for the Hot-Pack method

Once sliced, add peaches into the skillet, one layer at a time & warm the peaches. The warming process aids in helping the peaches to release some of the air that peaches & other fruit naturally retain. This prevents the fruit from floating to the top of the jars over time as well as preventing it from shrinking. Warm the fruit for a couple minutes just until they are warm.

Warming the peaches

Step 4: Pack Peaches Into Jars

Using a spoon, pack the warmed peaches into the jars in an overlapping fashion with the peach cavities facing downward. They pack nicer this way & you seem to fit more per jar. Leave about 1/2 cm from the top of the jar. Ladle hot syrup into the jar to cover the peaches. leaving 1/2 cm at the top of jars. Remove air bubbles by spinning the peaches around in the jar with a spoon or stirrer. Wipe the rims of the jars with a dish cloth. Center your lids on the jars. Screw the bands to fingertip tight.

Peach cavity down

Ladle in your syrup or water

Step 5: Process Jars in Canner

Place your jars in the canner, making sure that there is about an inch of water above the tops of the jars. Boil & process the jars for about 20 minutes. Remove the jars from the canner & allow the jars to cool.