Canning Peaches and Peach Conserve

It's a banner peach year and the New England peaches are priced well. Yesterday I put up 14 quarts of peach halves (from 20# peaches). This link will tell you how.
Canning Peaches
A tip from me: I prefer to can peaches when they are slightly under ripe. They tend to hold together better after the canning process. SO, I usually put the under ripe peaches in the hot water for 4 minutes when blanching to loosen the skins

Here is the peach conserve/marmalade recipe I used, it's yummy and it comes from Putting it up with Honey
I did change the recipe a bit.
Peach-Orange-Lemon Conserve ~ Yield 8 1/2 pints
2 medium oranges (peeled, set peels to the side)
1 lemon (peeled, set peels to the side)
10 large peaches
Pulp & Juice from the lemon & orange
2 1/2 cups honey

• Slice the citrus peels thinly and set aside

• chop the citrus fruit

• Remove the peach skins and pits, chop peaches to measure about 8 cups

• Combine all ingredients EXCEPT the honey. Slowly bring to a gentle boil and cook for 20 minutes

• Add honey and cook until it thickens. The cooking time will vary depending on the juice content of the fruit

I used ripe fruit sold at farmer's market as seconds and it took well over an hour to thicken. It will be hot so put a spoonful on a plate and pop it in the freezer to cool, this will give you an idea how thick it really is. I prefer a soft spread consistency.

• Stir frequently to prevent scorching.

• Spoon into hot sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch from the jar rim

• Wipe jar rim, complete seals and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Tip: if it is not beginning to get thick in 30 minutes, strain out some of the fruit and set aside as the rest of the fruit cooks and thickens and some of the juice evaporates. when it gets to the desired consistency, add fruit back in, fill jars, cap & process.

I am having a sugar fit just reading this, but it sounds soooo good! Thank you for sharing!

Megan wrote:I am having a sugar fit just reading this, but it sounds soooo good! Thank you for sharing!

LOL, I think one of the best things about this recipe is that there is NO SUGAR! The honey makes them taste so good!

Conventional wisdom says to use blemish free peaches to make jam, but people who don't know what they are doing sometimes have a revelation.

Thirty years ago I had 4 bushels of peaches that I was slicing up to freeze. As I dipped in boiling water, peeled and sliced, I would cut out the browning or soft spots and put into a bowl for later discard. Peelings and pits were in another bowl. Some peaches didn't slip the skin as well as others and the peelings had a good bit of peach attached. After finishing up the bagging for the freezer, I found I had about 8-10 cups of peach soft spots and bags of peach peelings. I have no idea why I decided to try my hand at making jam, but I bought some boxes of pectin and made jam from the soft spots and then boiled the thicker peelings and used the liquid to make peach jelly. That was the best, sweetest peach jam I have ever had. And the jelly (which had some lemon juice added) was tasty too. Entire project lasted the kids and I for 2 years.

Kay

Oh that is wonderful and a good lesson for us all Kay!  I love homemade jam and won't eat the store bought stuff anymore.  I wonder if I could make jelly with plum skins and the flesh attached to the seeds.  I will have to check to see if boiling the seeds to get the flesh off is poisonous or something.  Thank you for sharing with us!

Camprn I have always wondered if we could use honey instead of sugar. Your recipe sounds wonderful! I think we will be getting peaches here pretty soon and I will have to get some canned and follow your recipe for peach conserve/marmalade using honey!  My mouth is watering also!

Triciasgarden wrote:Camprn I have always wondered if we could use honey instead of sugar. Your recipe sounds wonderful! I think we will be getting peaches here pretty soon and I will have to get some canned and follow your recipe for peach conserve/marmalade using honey!  My mouth is watering also!

I made a spiced peach preserve today and I used honey and no pectin. The flavor is superior and the color is not a bright orange, but darker because of the extended cooking and winter honey I used. It's going to taste so good in January.

Oh my goodness, that sounds so wonderful and so healthy!  It brought back some very nice memories.  My grandma used to make spiced peaches and three years ago I canned two jars of them, the rest I canned regular.  It didn't taste quite right.  If my memory serves me correctly I could taste the vinegar and that didn't seem right.  Do you have a good recipe for spiced peaches?  I would also like your recipe for your spiced peach preserves if you don't mind.

Now there's a difference between pickled peaches and peach preserves. I got  a recipe online, then used honey instead of sugar, and less spice than what was called for. Generally, honey is sweeter than sugar so it's not cup for cup.http://www.pickyourown.org/SusbtitutingHoneyForSugar.htm.

Now THAT is "Blue Ribbon Fair" quality!

Nice job and it looks soooo good.

Thanks Bob, I am going to take it to the fair. I just wish it didn't get so dark. The judges will want something nice and orange, I'm sure.

I think I have to bite the bullet and next time add pectin so it doesn't have to cook so long and get caramelized. If I had added pectin, cooktime would have been a lot less. I really don't like the box stuff, mostly because I don't like to add as much sugar as they recommend.

This autumn I am so making my own apple pectin and canning it.

My aunt always deliberately overcooked her peach preserves because she thought it made them taste better.  I grew up on brown, almost candied peach preserves.

Kay

walshevak wrote:My aunt always deliberately overcooked her peach preserves because she thought it made them taste better.  I grew up on brown, almost candied peach preserves.

Kay

O love it that way too, for the same reason, but darnit! I want that blue ribbon and the $3.00 premium that goes with it, LOL.

I think they are beautiful and the flavor must be wonderful!  I hope you get the blue ribbon!

Hi camp,

I used pectin in mine and they still turned dark orange. That's okay though because they are still wonderful to the taste buds. 

Best of luck to you at the fair, bet you will win!

Looks fantastic and so does the honey  

So, guess what...  one of the grocery stores in town has a sale, peaches ¢69/lb. Can you believe it? Of course they were all sold out by the time I got there, but another truck is bringing more in the morning.  I'm going to TRY to make the bright peachy color jam with pectin. If I only have to cook it for 20-40 minutes, it shouldn't carmalize...... right?

My grandmother gave me a copy of the 1964 Farm Journal Freezing & Canning Cookbook - it has lasted all these years - even tho the pages are stained and bent.

Started making these pickled peaches back in 1968 and haven't changed the recipe in all that time.


Peach Pickle
 
4 lb peaches (6 medium)
1 tblsp whole cloves
2 quarts water
2 tblsp vinegar
4 cups sugar
1 ½ cup vinegar
¾ c. water
1 tbls. Whole ginger
2 (3”) sticks cinnamon
 
Pour boiling water over peaches; let stand until skins slip off easily when dipped in cold water. Peel
 
Stick a clove in each peach.  Pour on 2 qts water with the 2 tblsp vinegar added
 
Combine suger, 1 ½ c. vinegar and ¾ c. water.  Add ginger, remaining cloves and cinnamon tied in bags.  Bring to boil, add drained peaches; cover, boil until tender. About 10 minutes. Let stand overnight.
 
Drain, saving liquid; remove spices.  Pack peaches into hot pint jars.  Bring syrup to a boil and pour over peaches – leaving ½” head space.  Make certain peaches are covered with syrup.
 
Process in boiling water bath, 30 minutes.
 
Make 4-5 pints.

I canned some peach slices in pint jars. All but one sealed. Many of them have 'gunk' on the inside of the jar in the headspace area. Gunk meaning peach sediment and the liquid.

Are these okay? I'll definitely watch them as they are in the pantry to see if they turn a funky color or mold or anything, but are these okay?

JustMe wrote:I canned some peach slices in pint jars.  All but one sealed.  Many of them have 'gunk' on the inside of the jar in the headspace area.  Gunk meaning peach sediment and the liquid.    

Are these okay?  I'll definitely watch them as they are in the pantry to see if they turn a funky color or mold or anything, but are these okay?

Yup, if they sealed they should be fine.

Thanks. We have a few jars of peaches from last year, and I don't remember having nearly a much gunk on the inside as this year.

JustMe wrote:Thanks.  We have a few jars of peaches from last year, and I don't remember having nearly a much gunk on the inside as this year.

LOL, it's not gunk, it's peach stuff. These may have been a bit more ripe than the ones last year.

So, a few days ago, one of my brothers harvested his "Patio" peaches and dropped a box containing over 15-20Lbs at our door! 

My DW and I decided to freeze some, and to can some.

Here's a pic of our first try production!

Looks like we'll be doin' this for the next few days.

Nice! They have the color of pears!