Canned Peaches

Sometimes it feels like we wait all year long to enjoy a juicy, summer peach. When they’re in season, there’s really nothing better. Now that peaches are showing up at farmers’ markets and fruit stands, we’re loading up—eating them straight, throwing them in salads, baking them into crisps and galettes, and preserving them. For a chance to win everything you need for canning season, enter the Giveaway below!

The secret to using less sugar 

Marisa McClellan, writer behind blog Food in Jars, and the preeminent expert on all things canning, shared with us her secret ingredient to preserving fruit: plain old apple juice. “The benefit of canning in fruit juice is simply that it’s a lower sugar way of preserving whole fruit,” she says. “Traditional methods typically involve various thicknesses of sugar syrup, whereas this is a bit more wholesome.” Marisa adds, “Your kids can even drink the leftover juice!”

Recipe

For delicious peaches all year round, try Marisa's foolproof recipe. Our jar of choice for peaches? Weck Tulip Round Canning Jars. Clear, clean, and naturally BPA and aluminum-free!

Home Canned Peaches in Fruit Juice

Ingredients

• 4 pounds yellow peaches (freestone preferred)
• 48 ounces 100% apple juice (from concentrate is fine)

Instructions

1. Prepare a canning pot and three pint or 1/2 liter jars.

2. Cut peaches into quarters and remove pits. Place in a large, heatproof baking dish. Bring a kettle of water to a boil as you prep the peaches.

3. Once all the peaches are cut, place the pan in the skin, and pour the boiling water over them. Set a timer for three minutes.

4. While the peaches resting in the water so that their skins loosen, pour the juice into a four quart saucepan and bring to a simmer.

5. When the time is up, tip the hot water out of pan and run cold tap water over the peaches to make them cool enough to handle.

6. Remove the peels from the peach segments. If you start at the stem end, they should come free fairly easily. Use a paring knife on any tough bits.

7. As you work, slip each peeled peach bit into the simmering juice.

8. Once all the peaches are peeled, remove the jars from your canning pot.

9. Using a slotted spoon, divide the peach segments between the jars. Top with the hot juice, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Use a chopstick to wiggle out any trapped air bubbles and add more juice, if necessary.

10. Wipe the rims, apply the seals, lids, and clips, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes.

11. When time is up, remove the lid from the pot and slide it off the hot burner. Let the jars rest in the pot for an additional 10 minutes, to help prevent siphoning.

12. Finally, remove the finished jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool.

13. Sealed jars should be stored in a cool, dark place and should be eaten within about a year. Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.

Notes: For more exotic peaches, tuck a section of vanilla bean, a cinnamon stick or a bit of star anise into each jar. For something boozy, you can add a dash of bourbon or whiskey to each jar.

Giveaway!

To get set up with everything you need for canning season, enter for a chance to win our Canning Giveaway, value $200! Enter through Sunday, July 19, 2015. View Official Rules.