Canning Peaches Gran's Way

Even though she lived in the city, Gran's world had a more rural feel. She was on about a 1/2 acre lot with a front and backyard where all sorts of wonderful delights awaited a curious child. Her yards weren't manicured or landscaped, so they had a more wild appeal.

She didn't only grow vegetables, she also had several fruit trees including a lemon tree, apple tree and, my favorite, her peach tree. Just heading in that tree's direction with the intention of picking a peach caused my little mouth to water profusely. They were the juiciest, most luscious tasting peaches in the world and what she could create with them after they were canned, was a treat to any palette.

Now, I realize my young taste buds were more alive with the novelties of every nuance of taste, but we all know that fruit in the supermarket just doesn't have the same taste as fresh-picked fruit. That's because it's all picked before it even ripens due to that huge time-lapse from farm to table, a lapse often involving major forms of transportation and irradiation.

The modern supermarket has created a consumer who thinks all varieties of fruits and vegetables should be available all year. So many of our fruits and vegetables are imported from countries who are on the opposite side of the planet experiencing spring when we're in fall. This massive importation of fruits and vegetables means lots of our food is being irradiated. Watch for an entire Lens on this subject in the near future.

In the meantime, let's can Peaches!

Gran's peach tree produced clingstone peaches, which means the flesh of the peach clung tenaciously to the pit. The other variety is called the freestone peach; and, as it's name implies, it does the opposite letting loose of the pit easily. These days there's a new hybrid variety called semi-freestone; and it stradels the middle in terms of clinginess.

Whatever kind of peach you choose, make sure your peaches are ripe and firm. If you get them at the supermarket, you may have to let them ripen more on their own at home before you can them. Don't put them in cold storage as that causes them to loose flavor. And don't let them ripen so much they become mushy. Mushy peaches are not good for canning.

1. Because Gran didn't have a dishwasher, she sterilized her jars and lids the old-fashioned way, in a big cooking pot with boiling water. If you have a dishwasher, by all means use it to do the sterilization because they are great for that. Just make sure the rinse cycle works well so all the soap is removed and time your dishwashing so your jars and lids come out hot just prior to Step #8.
2. You're going to have to peel your peaches; but the easy way to do it is with a Blancher. Gran didn't have one of those; but she knew the from-hot-to-cold trick that makes peels come off of fruit and vegetables easily. A Blancher has three parts: a pot, a strainer and a lid. Gran blanched using these three pieces too. They just weren't designed to fit neatly together like a Blancher.
3. If you have a Blancer, fill it 2/3 full with hot water that you're going to bring to a boil with the handy strainer inside it. If you're using a big pot, do the same. Place your peaches in the boiling water for about 30-60 seconds only.
4. When the blanching time is up, lift the strainer up out of the Blancher for a few seconds to allow the water to strain out of the strainer. No Blancer, you need to drain the water out of your pot while protecting your peaches from falling out and getting bruised.
5. Have your sink filled with cold water. Gran added ice cubes to make the water even colder. Now carefully place your peaches in the sink for a few minutes. If you have nice ripe peaches and you're water was boiling, the peach skins will seem to melt off.

6. It's time to cut your peach open and remove the pit. This will be more challenging if you're using clingstone peaches and you will have to use a paring knife to cut the fruit away from the pit. It's entirely up to you how you want to slice your peaches. They could be halved, quartered or sliced.
7. Gran canned peaches with sugar. If you don't want to use sugar, you can use plain water or apple juice. The sugar, however, helps the peaches hold their flavor and color. You prepare your sugar water in a pot. Gran used 4 cups of sugar for every quart of water in the pot. That's a lot of sugar. Gran's world wasn't only salty, it was sugary too. You can use anywhere from 1 to 4 cups of sugar depending on how thick you want your syrup. Gran's peach syrup was really thick.
8. While you heat your sugar water, you can be filling your jars (hot out of the dishwasher) with your peaches. Once filled, pour the sugar water over the peaches in the jars leaving about 1/2 " at the top of the jars.
9. Making sure the rim of the jar is clean, place your lids and their rings on the jars. They do not have to be sealed tightly.
10. You will process your peaches in your Boiling Water Canner. There is no need to use a Pressure Canner for peaches because their acid level, pH, is higher than 4.6 assuring they cannot harbor that big, bad bug called Botulism. If you'd like to know more about which way to can a specific fruit or vegetable, go to my recommended Lens below called: Gran's Top Secret Canning Recipes Didn't Include Summer Squash!"
11. Boiling Water Canners like this are also called Water Bath Canners, and they're great for canning fruit. They come with their own canning rack. If your doing a lot of fruit canning, get a couple of them. It really helps to speed up the process. You will can all of your fruit using these nifty and inexpensive canners. Notice I said, "fruit", not vegetables. You need a Pressure Canner for veggies and those canners are more expensive.

12. Place your sealed jars into the Water Bath Canner's rack. Each rack holds 7 quart jars. Now place the rack into the Canner and fill it with water covering the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Place the lid on the Canner and turn your stove onto high heat. Gran didn't have one of these handy gadgets, so she placed her jars directly into a large pot with a plate placed upside down on the bottom to lift them away from the bottom and allow the water to circulate.
13. Once the water in the Canner starts boiling, you need to set your kitchen timer to 25 minutes for Pints and 30 minutes for Quarts. If you live in high altitudes, you will need to boil your peaches a little longer depending on how high up you are. Go here to see an Altitude Chart for Boiling Water Processing: http://www.freshpreserving.com/filebin/BoilingWater.pdf
14. Once your peaches are finished processing, turn off the heat and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before taking them out of the Water Bath Canner. Just set them on a towel and allow them to cool over night before storing them. While they are cooling, you'll hear the popping sounds of lids sealing.
15. Also, before storing be sure you check to make sure all your jars sealed properly. You do this by pressing on the top of the lid. It should not move up and down; and now, if you hear a popping sound, there is air in the jar and it can't be stored. Gran would always gleefully announce, "Peaches for desert" when she heard a cool jar's lid pop. I'd jump up and down screaming "Popping Peaches, Popping Peaches!"

Canning fruit is so much easier than canning vegetables because you don't have to do that whole pressure regulation thing. If you're new to canning, I recommend you start with fruit. Once you discover how easy it is to can fruit like peaches, you can venture into canning vegetables.

Canning can be a great family event. You could even get Dad involved or you could make it an intimate afternoon with your children or grandchildren or even with yourself. With the Holidays right around the corner, this is a perfect time to start a canning project. If you're needing to pinch pennies for the holidays this year, sweetly wrapped jars of peaches could make a perfect gift. All you need to do is get one of your own presents early by clicking on the link below and purchasing a Water Bath Canner at a great price.