2 - 3 lbs. peaches per quart
sugar
water
Wash peaches and dip in boiling water for 60 seconds. Immediately dip into cold water, then slip off the peels. Cut peaches in half; pit and scrape cavity to remove red fibers (the fibers will turn brown during storage if you don't do this).
Use a knife to cut through to the pit beginning at the stem end and follow crease to blossom end. Now hold the peach in your hands and twist in opposite directions to separate the halves. =)
Treat peaches to prevent darkening.
Make a light or medium syrup and keep hot.
Drain peaches and pack cavity side down, layers overlapped, into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Ladle hot syrup over peaches, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles using spatula, knife, etc.
Cap and process pints 25 minutes or quarts 30 minutes in a hot water bath.
Treat peaches to prevent darkening.
Make a medium or heavy syrup.
Drain peaches and then cook, one layer at a time, in syrup until peaches are hot throughout.
Pack hot peaches into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Pour hot syrup over peaches, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Remove bubbles using a knife, spatula, etc.
Cap and process pints 20 minutes or quarts 25 minutes in a hot water bath.
If peaches are juicy, measure peaches after pitting and peeling. Add 1 - 2 cups of sugar to each 5 quarts peaches. Cook peaches slowly until sugar dissolves and peaches are hot throughout. Pack and process as for canning peaches, hot pack. If there is not enough syrup, add boiling water to cover the peaches, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
These fruits will darken, either while being prepared, or while in the jar. To prevent this, use a commercial mixture of ascorbic and citrus acids according to manufacturer's instructions. Drop fruit into solution as it is peeled or cut. Do NOT leave the fruit in there for longer than 20 minutes. Rinse well before packing into jars. PS - I froze apples last year and didn't treat them, and they are not darkening at all. Perhaps freezing doesn't allow apples to darken; I'm not sure. Just thought I'd pass that along. =)
NOTE: Jeni just wrote me and let me know that the above mentioned treatment involves a small amount of arsenic. I don't know about you, but I do NOT want to be feeding my family ANY amount of arsenic!!! Jeni says she just covered her peaches with boiling water and 1 TBL of honey per quart and they didn't brown at all. =) Thanks Jeni!
NOTE: Maka simply added one 1000 mg tablet to hot water, crushed it & mixed it in, then she dipped the fruit into the mixture. She found adding a bit of honey helped with the bitterness when she used some really cheap vitamin C tablets, but when she used the effervescent kind (health food store, supposed to be better for you), there was no bitterness. She hasn't used this in canning, but in dehydrating, however, I'd think if any fruit were going to brown doing this, it would be in the dehydrating BEFORE the canned goods, so this sounds like a good one to try if you do want to treat the fruit. Thanks Maka!
Use Clingstone or Freestone varieties.
Prepare as shown above.
Remove pits and cut into 1/2 inch slices or circles.
Pretreat by dipping.
Dry at 130 - 135 degrees Farenheit unti lpliable with no moisture pockets.
Use as a snack, or in baked goods, salads, or desserts.
Water content = 89%.
2 quarts crushed, peeled, pitted peaches
1/2 c. water
6 c. sugar
Combine peaches and water in a large saucepot.
Cook gently 10 minutes.
Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Bring slowly to a boil.
Cook rapidly to gelling point, @ 15 minutes.
As mixture thickens, stir to prevent sticking.
Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.
Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Cap and process 15 minutes in hot water bath.
Yield = 4 pints.
6 lbs. peaches
2 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. lemon peel
1/4 c. lemon juice
Prepare peaches as shown above and treat.
Combine sugar, flour, and spices.
Rinse and drain peaches. Stir into sugar mixture.
Let stand until juices begin to flow, about 30 minutes.
Stir in lemon peel and lemon juice.
Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken.
Ladle pie filling into can or freeze jars or plastic freezer boxes, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Cool at room temperature, NO LONGER THAN 2 HOURS.
Seal, label, and freeze.
Yield = 4 pints.
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