Canning Peaches

On a stormy Saturday morning (it was awesome listening to the thunder roll in!), Brian and I canned some of the Michigan Red Haven peaches.  Since this was our first time canning peaches, we were unsure of how many pints we needed to have ready.  So, we just planned on doing 5 pints and then freezing any remainder.  We had already set aside some of the peaches for a pie and also a few for eating fresh and then ended up with 17 peaches to can.  We were able to can 10 whole peaches (4 halves in each pint) and freeze the remaining 7 in two freezer containers.  We sliced the peaches we froze.  Here's the process we took:

First you want to get everything ready to can...pre-wash your jars in the dishwasher, set out all the tools, etc.  Also, you will want to can "ripened" peaches, so if your peaches aren't quite there yet, lay them out on paper towels on the counter for one to two days (never stack them on top of each other).  Next, fill a large bowl with water and 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice (this helps prevent the peaches from darkening).  This will hold the cut peaches prior to placing them in the jars.  Wash and cut the peaches in half by sliding a knife all the way around the pit and gently separate.  Remove the pit.

Next, peel the skins off the halves.  The skins should be very easy to peel off if the peach is at the right stage of ripening.

Place in the bowl of lemon juice and water.

Near the end of cutting and peeling, you'll want to fill your jars with really hot water (to prevent them from breaking when pouring in the boiling syrup).  You'll also want to start boiling the syrup.  You can use anywhere from a light syrup (less sugar) to a heavy syrup (more syrup).  Since peaches are already pretty sweet, we used a light syrup.  The recipe we used called for 5 and 3/4 cups water, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and one tablespoon bottled lemon juice for 9 pints.  Even though we were only making 5 pints, we still needed some for the freezer containers.  Although, if you had any left over, throwing out a little bit of sugar and water would not be the end of the world!  Heat to boiling.

At this time, we also started heating the lids to boiling as well as heating the water in the canner.  Starting with one jar at a time, pour out the hot water and stack the peach halves (pit side down) in the jar.  Using a funnel, fill the jar with the boiling syrup leaving about a half inch headspace.

Using a knife or canning tool, check for any air bubbles and slide the tool along the side to release the bubbles.  This helps prevents spoilage.  Wipe off the rim of the jar to get rid of any syrup or pieces of peaches.  The lids will not seal if you have any residue underneath them.  {As an aside, you should never re-use lids.  They will not seal properly the next time and cause spoilage.}  Using the magnetic canning tool, take a sterilized lid from the pan and place it on top of the jar.  Secure with a ring and set aside.

 

Once your water bath is fully boiling, place jars in the bath and boil for 25 minutes.  Remove from heat using a jar lifter and place on towels to cool.  Listen for the popping sound to make sure they seal.  Once cool, label, and then store in a cool, dark, and dry location (for us, this is our basement).

 

If freezing, place sliced (or halved) peaches in a freezer container and add boiling syrup.  Place lid on top making sure to let as much air escape as possible.  Let cool on counter, label, and then place in freezer. 

Now that we have an idea of how many pints we need to how many peaches we have, we'll definitely do more pints next year!