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Canned Peaches

For those who might still want to do a little canning, peaches are probably the favorite one to do. They make a quick dessert and a nice addition to many recipes.

The basic supplies you need include:

  • 12 quart sized canning jars,
  • new snap lids to fit jar size (screw bands can be re-used)
  • a water bath canner
  • tongs (jar lifter) or good  rubber gloves

I’ve also recycled good quality spaghetti sauce jars with their lids. (use once, they do re-seal) The canner has a metal rack that fits into the bottom so that the jars sit a bit elevated from the direct heat. Wash and rinse jars well. Use heat dry cycle in dishwasher. Cover snap lids or rubber lids with water in small pot and bring to boil. Keep hot.

Ingredients:

  • 20 pounds freestone or semi-freestone peaches
  • 5 cups sugar
  • 12 cups water
Method:


  1. Prepare syrup in a large pot by heating sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Keep hot.
  2. Bring about 8 inches of water to a boil in canner and keep hot.
  3. Scald peaches (pour boiling water over them, soak about 1 min. and drain).
  4. Cut in halves or quarters, peel and remove pits. Pack into sterilized jars, smooth side to the outside. Cover with hot syrup to within 1/2 inch from the top.
  5.  Center snap lid on clean jar rim and apply screw band just until fingertip tight.
  6. Place jars in canner. When water comes to a second boil, continue processing (boiling) for 20 minutes.
  7. Remove from canner using tongs or rubber gloves, and place on a towel or large cutting board, away from drafts. This recipe makes about 12 quarts.

Do not push down on the lids. You will hear popping as the lids seal and will be able to tell by a more inverted look on the lid. Refrigerate any jars that don’t seal.


41 comments:

  1. Yes, home canned peaches are the best! I'm wondering about the 4-5 inches of water in the canner......it is usually recommended that the jars are completely submerged in water with at least an inch of water above the tops of jars. My friend always had problems with her peaches eventually turning brown in the jars, while mine stayed nice and light. As we compared our canning methods we discovered the difference was that she wasn't submerging the jars while canning. Have you had any problems with that?

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  2. anneliese, my friends and i just seal them in the oven with a little water sitting in the tope of the jars....it has usually worked, i am not sure about then turning brown, i never can that many that i have noticed.
    today it is just to muggy, and wet to do anything like canning. i'll just enjoy your pictures. i thought that i would make soup today, but changed my mind....wiping my brow now. phew.

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  3. Hi Elsie,
    Submerging them is new to me, but then I'm no professional canner. I just did what my Mom did and no, I
    don't have problems with them turning brown. I close the lid and they sort of steam in there. I think they turn brown when they are not processed long enough, but it sure wouldn't hurt to submerge them to be safe. Thanks to anyone who has more tips.
    Charlotte, I thought of mentioning the oven method, but I haven't personally used it for peaches. I may have tried it a long time ago for crab apples. Even then, I would just have them sit in some water in pan, I think. Enjoy the muggy day. Have some watermelon.

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  4. Well, after all these years of doing it the wrong way, I finally checked the trusted internet and found these specific instructions:

    Fill the canner halfway with water.

    Preheat the water to 140 degrees F for raw-packed foods and to 180 degrees F for hot-packed foods.

    Load filled jars, fitted with lids, into the canner rack and use the handles to lower the rack into the water, or fill the canner, one jar at a time, with a jar lifter.

    Add more hot water, if needed, so the water level is at least 1 inch above jar tops.Cover with the canner lid.

    Turn heat to its highest position until the water boils vigorously.

    Set a timer for the minutes required for processing the food.

    Lower the heat setting to maintain a gentle boil throughout the process schedule.

    Add more boiling water, if needed, to keep the water level above the jars.

    When jars have been processed for the recommended time, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.

    Using a jar lifter, remove the jars and place them on a towel, leaving at least 1 inch of space between the jars during cooling.

    http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5338.html

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  5. Home canned peaches are the best! Great job Anneliese..love that photo!!
    I always submerge my jars and it works, my Mom did it like this and so I do the same. No brown peaches here! I don't mess with a good thing..hehe
    I'd like to transfer all those 'golden jars' to my place..

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  6. Those peaches look great, I can almost taste them. I haven't canned peaches for a long time but nothing beats canned peaches..puts the bought ones to shame!! great pictures.

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  7. OH, the look so good.
    I used to always can peaches, but they seemed to turn brown on my so I gave up! But by reading everybodies comments, maybe we have some new advice....Yummy!
    I think it's supposed to rain next week..

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  8. I remember waiting for the popping noise, being so excited they were being sealed.

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  9. I had a rough go at my first batch of peaches. I've canned before with yummy success and finally bought 50 pounds of peaches on sale.

    Except scalding them made them into mushy tennis balls and the peel didn't come off all that easy. And I accidentally turned off the canner when I meant to turn off the pan that was simmering the lids. what a mess, couldnt figure out why it stopped boiling.

    The peaches in the jars were super cloudy. (because of the mushy getting the skins off) I wonder, can I just knife peel them and pack them into the jars... and do the rest the same?

    otherwise I give up and I'm make jam. They are going to start getting moldy if I don't do something today or tomorrow. eek!

    ~Shannon

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  10. If I may respond to anonymous Shannon...... it sounds like your peaches were not ripe enough when you tried to peel them. If they are nice and ripe, a little scalding permits you to pull the peel off very easily. I usually have them all sitting on an old tablecloth on the dining room table until they are ripe enough to can. Don't give up, you can do it!

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  11. Thank you, Elsie for responding. I forgot to mention that boxes of peaches are packed green so they won't bruise. When I bring home a box, I lay them out, like Elsie said, for a few days. If the peaches are not ripe enough or too ripe, you will have problems. To answer your question, yes you can just peel them by hand (more tedious and not as nice looking) or if you think they are too ripe, making jam sounds like a good idea!
    I had peaches once that didn't want to let go of the pit and they were a mess! After that I always made sure to get freestone.
    Hope it all works out for you in the end. All the best!

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  12. oh yum, these look fantastic! Makes me want to go out there NOW and get a box of peaches. I just opened my last canned jar of peaches that I got from my MIL, and the homecanned ones are SO much better than the bought ones. Beautiful pics as well, you should submit some of them to tastespotting! :)

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  13. I always use a little fruit fresh or lemon juice and soak them a bit before I can them and this prevents them from turning brown. Makes them look a little better but the brown doesn't hurt anything. Hopes this helps!

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  14. HI!! I canned some peaches last night and had a new problem I have never had before. I did several pints and then 4 quart jars. All of the pints are ok but 3 of the 4 quarts had peach juice bubbling out from under the lid when I removed them from the watter bath. I set them out and the did seal (the button on the lid is down and firm). Do you think these are ok as they did seal or should I toss them just to be sure? Thank you for your help!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Christy,
    I've had juice coming out, or at least the jars feeling sticky when I've gone to clean them up, but becasue they were sealed, I did not worry about it. Now, just to be sure, I checked on the National Center for Home Canning http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/questions/FAQ_canning.html#4
    and found that the reason this happens is when there is too little head space. It says that this could cause the seal not too take. If you are concerned, you could always refrigerate those jars and eat them first. It could be that if they lost too much liquid, the fruit on top may get brown. I hope this helps.

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  16. Yes Christy I have had this happen to me too but I refrigerate those and we eat them first and it's not a problem. And as Anneliese said I agree that the jars were probably too full.

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  17. I just canned peaches for the first time - I've done jams and jellies with no problems, but with these I thought the jar was full, it sure seemed full but when they can out of the canner, it was as if I hadn't put enough in or they shrunk. My neighbor, who has been canning her whole life (she is 79 1/2!) says they shrunk. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I can't find anything on the web about this and so came to you all.

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  18. Hello Hilinski ... I doubt that there is anything wrong with your peaches. ... as long as the jars are sealed. Maybe you did not pack them tightly and if so, it would look like there are less peaches once they are processed. I'm wondering if the liquid comes to the top of the jar . . . If you try canning again, be sure to pack them quite snuggly, so that you only need about a cup of liquid to fill the quart sized jar.

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  19. I had a very good harvest this year from my peach tree. After making preserves I tried your canned peaches recipe. It was the best ever, they didn't turn brown and they taste like they just came off the tree! Thank you!
    Vicki

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  20. I use the British Columbia method for canning peaches. Place 2/3 cup of sugar in clean sterilized jars, add enough boiling water to dissolve sugar and stir to dissolve all the sugar. Add blanched peaches to fill jar add more water if necessary. Seal jars and put in pressure canner. Exhaust canner, close petcock, when pressure reaches 5 pounds take off heat. Remove jars when pressure is 0. Or can in water boiling canner.

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  21. I use the BC method as well. It saves making too much or not enough syrup for your jars. Also the boiling water canner works just fine if you don't own a pressure canner but takes longer.

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  22. My friend and I canned peaches for the first time ever yesterday and they turned out horrible!!! They all floated to the top and got bubbles. They sealed fine, but when we opened one of them up to make sure they were okay, it tasted fermented and tangy! What did we do wrong? We fixed them exactly the way the recipe said to make them. Everyone makes it seem easy, and we don't want to give up too soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry that the peaches did not turn out for you. Not having observed what you did, it is hard to say what went wrong. In a comment above I have listed a website to check further on canning procedures. I would just reinforce the need for clean, sterilized jars and equipment. Pack the jars as full as you can with peaches, so that you only have to add 1 cup or less of sugary liquid (syrup). Be sure you leave about 3/4 inch on top of empty space before putting hot lids on the jars. Process 20 minutes after the hot water comes to a boil.
      I had an experience with bubbly jam once... no idea why and it never happened again...so I hope this was a one time experience for you too and that you try again and have success.

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    2. I ve always used Mother s method, fill jars with fruit, add 1 Table spoon honey, fill with water, close and seal put in canner 20 min . And always good , no problems .

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  23. I had scald & pealed my peaches and left them in the fridge overnight. The next day the bowl was full of its own juices. Can I add the juice to the syrup mixture or do you have any suggestions for the peach juice. Thank you
    signed, "what to do with the juice"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd be more concerned that they may have turned brown. Did they not? I think adding the juice to the syrup should be fine. By now you have probably done what you had to do. I hope they are okay.

      Delete
  24. the way i was taught was to make the syrup and then add peaches to the syrup and cook for a few minutes. And then fill the jars completely full, put on the lids and turn upside down overnight. There is no need to put them in any canner or anything else. Now i am a little worried this isn't safe. It does create a seal and the lid pops down.....

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    Replies
    1. I have canned peaches this way for over 30 years and they sealed and were great.

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    2. This reminds me of a story my father told me about his mom canning peaches. She would put the jars of peaches and hot syrup in the canner. As soon as it came to the boil again she took the canner off the wood stove and wrapped it up in a quilt and left it for.................I don't remember the rest of the story.
      I remember her and my mom doing quarts and quarts and quarts of peaches apricots plums as the recipe above.
      That's what I do put only 4 or 5 quarts.

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  25. Can u tell me why some of my Jars Break or Crack when they are in Canner of Water ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There could be several reasons. Sudden temperature changes can crack jars. If you can think of that happening for any reason, that could be one. The other, is that if the jars are not actual canning jars, they may crack.

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  26. There seem to be some bubbles in the juice, the jars have all sealed. Just wondering if that's normal?

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    Replies
    1. I've looked it up and it seems like it's common to have some bubbles, They are okay as long as they are inactive. If you open the jar and they fizz or come to the top, there may be some fermenting. So, if your jars are sealed and the bubbles don't fizz, they are okay. You may want to use those jars first, if it's just certain ones. Fruit that is exposed due to liquid that has come out during processing may turn a bit dark but it is still okay.

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  27. The jars should be submerged. Water should be no less than 1 inch above jar lids.

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  28. I did my peaches, woke up next morning to a wet and sticky table, tops and sides of jars were the same, now they look like they are fermenting. What could I have done wrong?

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  29. Hello Lynne, the stickiness is quite normal as juices can escape during the processing and the jars still normally seal. However, if for some reason your jars did not seal, something definitely went wrong and it is hard to say, not knowing how
    the instructions were interpreted. Here is a site that may answer your questions about food discoloring etc. http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p0993.pdf

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  30. I love canning my peaches, but this year some of the ones at the top of the jar have turned white. I have never seen this before. It looks like perhaps the syrup did not cover all of it. Are they safe to eat?

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    Replies
    1. You may be right about the syrup. I'd just discard the ones that have turned color. I'm sure, if the jars are sealed, the peaches are fine. If you notice fermentation or a funny taste,discard the whole jar.

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  31. The peaches look fabulous. I want to can peaches but in pint jars. Long long would I process them for?

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    Replies
    1. I have processed whatever size jar I use for 20 minutes (after water in canner comes to a second boil)
      but I was just looking it up and saw that pint jars should be processed 25 minutes and quarts 30 minutes. Hope that helps. Seems like rules are always changing. =)

      Delete

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