Preserve
homegrown (or locally sourced) yellow peaches to enjoy all year long! Choose
fresh, fragrant, ripe (but very firm) peaches and bottle in syrup, juice or water. Perfect for grilling to add to salads, using
in savoury or sweet dishes, like yoghurt or ice-cream, or simply snacking
directly from the jar. Enjoy!
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Ingredients for BOTTLED
PEACHES (HALVED OR SLICED)
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Yield: 4 cups
(1 Litre / 1 Quart)
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Yield: 18 cups
(4.5 Litres / 9 Pints)
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Yield: 28 cups
(7 Litres / 7 Quarts)
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Ripe, Mature, Firm Yellow Flesh Peaches
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1.1kg (2 1/2 pounds)
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5kg (11 pounds)
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8kg (17
1/2 pounds)
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Sugar Syrup
OR
Water OR Juice
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see Syrup
Chart below (choose very light,
light or medium syrup)
OR use apple juice, white grape
juice or water
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Plus 3g (1 teaspoon) ascorbic acid powder
(or crush 6 x 500-milligram pure vitamin c tablets) dissolved in 4 litres (1 gallon) of cold water
to prevent oxidation during fruit preparation.
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METHOD:
1. Clean jars (or bottles) and equipment by washing in hot soapy water
and rinsing well before use. 2. Use very firm, ripe peaches for preserving. Wash peaches
and drain well. Remove skins, stems and blemishes.
To remove peach
skins: dip whole peaches in boiling water for 30-60
seconds, until skins become loose. Then place peaches into a bowl of cold water
to remove skins.
Cut peaches in
half and remove pits. Slice if desired. Place peaches into
ascorbic acid solution to prevent discolouration (3g/1 teaspoon
ascorbic acid powder
- or crush 6 x 500-milligram pure vitamin c tablets - dissolved in 4 litres/1 gallon of cold water). Repeat, peeling the remaining peaches.
3. Place lids into a heatproof bowl and cover the
lids with boiling water. Remove the lids from the water when you are ready to
place them onto the jars to seal.
4. Prepare syrup (or fruit juice) by heating
sugar and water together in a pan, until the sugar is dissolved. See syrup
chart below for ingredient quantities.
HOT PACK (RECOMMENDED):
5. Remove jars from hot water and place onto a
heatproof surface i.e. tea towel.
6. Place prepared peaches into syrup
pan and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat and fill jars immediately. Repeat,
heating remaining peaches (if required for larger batches). Fill jars with hot peaches,
filling to 1.25cm (1/2 inch) from the rim of each jar.
TIP: use a jar
funnel to fill jars and layer peach halves cut side
down, to pack jars tightly.
RAW PACK:
5. Remove jars from hot water and place onto a
heatproof surface i.e.
tea towel.
6. Fill jars with prepared raw peaches, filling
to 1.25cm (1/2 inch) from the rim of each jar.
TIP: use a
jar funnel to fill jars and layer peach halves cut side down, to pack jars
tightly.
7. Fill jars with hot syrup/juice, filling to
1.25cm (1/2 inch) from the rim of each jar.
8. Using a non-metal utensil, remove any bubbles and add more hot syrup/juice
if required to correct the headspace if it dropped below 1.25cm (1/2 inch) from
the jar rim. Excess syrup can be frozen for later use.
10. Wipe jar rims with a damp paper towel to
remove any food residue.
11. Remove lids from hot water and seal jars i.e. twist to secure
“fingertip tight”.
12. Process jars in water bath or pressure canner
as per charts below:
BOILING WATER CANNER (WATER BATH):
13.
Return jars of bottled peaches into the pot of boiling water and boil for the
processing time stated below. Start the timer once the water comes back to a
full boil.
14. Turn off the heat source once the time is up. Remove jars from hot
water after 5 more minutes. Cool jars overnight on a heatproof surface i.e.
wooden board or towel. Do not adjust lids during this time.
PRESSURE
CANNING (DIAL OR WEIGHTED GAUGE):
13. Place sealed jars into the pressure canner
and secure the pressure canner lid. Put onto heat and vent for 5 minutes (begin
timing once the white steam is constant). Then add weights (or cover) and bring
to the required pressure level for your altitude (see charts below). Once the
pressure is reached, process for the time stated in the charts below for your
altitude. Reduce/increase the heat source to keep the pressure at the constant
level.
14. Turn off the heat source once
the time is up. Allow the pressure canner to return to zero and then remove the
lid (be careful, lid and canner will be very hot). After 5 more minutes, remove
jars from the pressure canner and place them onto a heatproof surface (i.e.
wood board or a towel). Do not adjust lids during this time.
15.
After 12-24 hours: check jars have sealed before labelling and dating clearly.
16. Store jars of bottled peaches in a cool, dark and dry place (i.e.
pantry) for up to 12 months. Jar lids should remain tightly sealed during
storage, and not flex up or down when pressed (which indicates jar seal
failure, do not consume).
17. Refrigerate jars upon opening and consume contents within 3 days.
FLAVOUR
IDEAS:
Add
a pinch of spice, fruit juice in the syrup (instead of some of the water) or one
teaspoon of liqueur per 500ml (pint) jar of bottled peaches, process according
to the recipe and taste when opening to check the flavouring. Then make in
larger batches as desired.
o Liqueur – Almond, Bourbon,
Brandy or Rum;
o Spice – Cinnamon,
Ginger, Raspberry or Vanilla;
o Champagne;
o Honey (replace part
of the sugar), i.e. honey spiced peaches;
o Passionfruit pulp;
o Champagne;
o Pineapple juice.
NOTES:o White fleshed peaches, including donut peaches,
cannot be safely preserved using this recipe because they
can be much lower in acidity than yellow fleshed peaches. We recommend freezing white flesh peaches instead.
o Have you found store bought tinned peaches
losing quality lately? i.e. poor (or no) flavour, that all you can taste is syrup?
This is the main reason we recommend preserving locally sourced peaches from
family farms (or homegrown) for such a delicious flavour in every jar!
o Re: Step 2 - you can dip the peaches in boiling water for 60
seconds to slip off their skins, or peel manually and use the peels afterwards
to make peach honey (a thick peach syrup that is the consistency of honey, made
by boiling peach peels in water, straining the liquid, adding sugar and
reducing over low to medium heat until the syrup is thickened to your liking.
Bottle as per processing charts above.
A reference chart to assist with syrup preparation. Fills 7 quarts (7 x 1L) of fruit.
HOT PACK (RECOMMENDED): Heat ingredients together to make syrup, add fruit and bring to boil, simmer fruit until hot. Fill jars with hot fruit and syrup.
RAW PACK: Heat ingredients together to make syrup, pour hot syrup over raw fruit in jar.
RAW PACK: Heat ingredients together to make syrup, pour hot syrup over raw fruit in jar.
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SYRUP CHART
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SUGAR
%
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WATER
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100% FRUIT JUICE
(i.e. APPLE OR
WHITE GRAPE)
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SUGAR (RAW, WHITE OR BROWN)
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STEVIA POWDER
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WATER
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0%
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10 cups
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STEVIA
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10 cups
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1/4 cup
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LOW-CAL FRUIT JUICE
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5 cups
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5 cups
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LOW SUGAR
FRUIT JUICE
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7 cups
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3 cups
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1/4 cup
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1/4 cup
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100% FRUIT JUICE
(i.e.
APPLE OR
WHITE GRAPE
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10 cups
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SWEETENED FRUIT JUICE
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10 cups
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1/4 cup
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VERY LIGHT SYRUP
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10%
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10 1/2 cups
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1 1/4 cups
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LIGHT SYRUP
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20%
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9 cups
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2 1/4 cups
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MEDIUM SYRUP
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30%
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8 1/4 cups
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3 3/4 cups
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Jar Size
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Altitude
≤ 1,000 feet
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Altitude 1,001 - 3,000
feet
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Altitude 3,001
- 6,000
feet
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Altitude
≥ 6,000
feet
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Hot Pack
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≤ 500ml
(pints)
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20 minutes
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25 minutes
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30 minutes
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35 minutes
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≤ 1 Litre
(quarts)
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25 minutes
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30 minutes
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35 minutes
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40 minutes
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Raw Pack
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≤ 500ml
(pints)
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25 minutes
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30 minutes
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35 minutes
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40 minutes
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≤ 1 Litre
(quarts)
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30 minutes
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35 minutes
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40 minutes
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45 minutes
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Processing
Time for BOTTLED PEACHES
(HALVED OR SLICED)
in a
Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner
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Altitude
Pressure Levels
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Packing Style
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Jar Size
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Processing
Time
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0-1000ft
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>1000ft
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Hot Pack
& Raw Pack
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<
Quarts (1 Litre)
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10
minutes
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5 PSI
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10 PSI
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Processing
Time for BOTTLED PEACHES
(HALVED OR SLICED)
in a Dial
Gauge Pressure Canner
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Altitude Pressure Levels |
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Packing
Style
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Jar Size
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Processing
Time
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0-2000ft
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2001-4000ft
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4001-6000ft
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6001-8000ft
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Hot Pack
& Raw
Pack
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<
Quarts (1 Litre)
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10
minutes
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6 PSI
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7 PSI
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8 PSI
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9 PSI
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Author:
Megan Radaich
Image credit: Megan Radaich
Learn More: Introduction
to Pressure Canning Guide, available HERE