A Peach of a Day
We made a dent in the four bushels of peaches we picked up yesterday from a local orchard. It's been a long, productive day.
First, I sorted the peaches into three categories. The first one, which we took care of today, I thought of as the 'can right now' batch. These are the ones that were bruised, very ripe or injured in some way. The second group includes peaches that are ripe and ready to eat. Their skins are intact, and they are not bruised, but they need to be processed very soon, like tomorrow. The third group has those peaches that are still firm and can wait a few days before they need attention.
I decided to blanch and skin all of the peaches that we were going to process today in the first step. That frees up the stove for heating water for lids and rings, more water to sterilize the jars, and more water for the peaches in the jars. We used only water with pectin for our liquid, with no sweeteners of any kind. After the peaches were blanched and peeled it was time to heat up two water bath canners, slice the peaches, bring in more jars, dig out the pectin and get ready to go.
It always seems like that first canner takes forever to come to boiling. We heated up the water in the canner while we got everything ready, but it still takes a while to come to a rolling boil so you can start timing it.
We ran out of room on our 'sealing and cooling' shelf, so we had to wash up and put away the things we canned recently.
I remarked to Frank that it is nice to finally be comfortable canning. At first I was always nervous, checking and rechecking to make sure everything was right. Now, I find it enjoyable to be able to confidently put away food for us to eat.
The sun has long since set and we had a very late supper. We ended up with 34 quarts of peaches today and that's only about a third of them. We'll be at it for a few more days before we are finished, and then I have about 35 pounds of Cushaw squash waiting to be canned. It's been another good day on the homestead.
Until next time - Fern
It always seems like that first canner takes forever to come to boiling. We heated up the water in the canner while we got everything ready, but it still takes a while to come to a rolling boil so you can start timing it.
What is the purpose of the pectin in the peaches? Is it just to make the "syrup" thicker? Forgive my ignorance, I've never heard of using pectin when canning peaches.
ReplyDeleteW.
Hi, W. Pectin helps to keep the fruit from turning brown. You can also use citric acid powder or lemon juice for the same purpose. It does not thicken the water. Thank you for asking.
DeleteFern
http://www.freshpreserving.com/products/fruit-fresh
Isn't fruit fresh citric acid? And pectin is the stuff you put in jelly to make it thicken?
DeleteW.
You are exactly right, W. Thank you for correcting my mistake. And here I thought I had checked the label correctly.
DeleteFern
We are in winter just now. Seeing this makes me look forward to summer! Lovely!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Annabel.
DeleteFern
Wow that's a lot of peaches to work. Saturday my hubby and I worked up corn ended with 58 pints for the freezer.
ReplyDeleteRue
Putting up 58 pints of corn is a lot of work, Rue, good for you.
DeleteFern
I can so appreciate the work that went into your peaches. Our pit fruit is just starting to come in here. I put up 7 pints plus a bonus little bit of apricot jam. Also put up dilly beans for the first time. Yum. So worth the time and energy. Looking forward to peach season.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about waiting for the canning pot to come to full boil - tries my patience every time.
I am also now just getting comfortable with my canning - finally buying the right canning tools helped. I tried for years to 'make do' with my regular tongs to both lift the jars and lift the lids from the hot water. Finally invested in a proper jar lifter, a basket contraption to sit the lids in while warming and a magnet wand to lift the lids. I'm not usually one for one-use gadgets in the kitchen, but these changed my canning experience. Also bought a silicone mitt and potholder. Worth every penny spent.
Always look forward to your posts. Cheering from afar...SJ in Vancouver BC Canada
Good tools make the difference with any job, SJ. We were just talking about our stainless steel wide mouth funnel yesterday. Frank commented how it has really paid off to have it around. We use it for all kinds of things. Now I think I'll get an extra one, just in case. Thanks for sharing, SJ, it's always good to hear from you.
DeleteFern
Last year I tried something new - Peachsauce. Wash, pit and cook fruit, blend with a stick blender and can just like applesauce. The peel adds body and tons of flavor. It is so fast and no wasted peel. Happy canning!
ReplyDeleteGail, this sounds great! I don't have a stick blender, but we can come up with something. Did you cook it down a bit, so it would thicken up? I will have to try this. The last time we canned peaches we made peach butter. I was wondering how I could do something similar, with the same spices, but no sugar. I will give this a try. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFern
Fern I Love Peaches! What a treat!
ReplyDeleteLast year I made peach butter with honey as my sweetener! I have a handful ofthose left...so so good! I used a potato masher for mine.
I love them, too, M.E. Really! A potato masher is a good idea. I think I will make some of the peach sauce that Gail talked about, without any sweetener, but maybe some cinnamon and nutmeg. It sounds great. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFern
Mmmm... peaches over cottage cheese! My favorite dessert! I also love to put peaches in my yogurt. Of course, there is nothing better than peach cobbler. Our peach trees are growing, finally, and we have 6 peaches this year. Hopefully next year we will have a big enough harvest to can some peaches!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even thought of peaches over cottage cheese, Vickie, and we have both in the frig. Sounds like a good addition to lunch today, thanks! It sounds like your peach orchard is established and on the way. Best of luck.
DeleteFern
What can I say but a "peach" of a post!
ReplyDeleteYou're funny, Fiona! Thanks!
DeleteFern
Fern,
ReplyDeleteThose are some really nice looking peaches. I see you're going to be very busy the next several days.
Enjoy those peaches!!!
Hugs,
Sandy
We've got both canners running again, Sandy. One of them had to wait for another pressure canner of Cushaw squash to be completed, though. Since we have had so much rain the Cushaws have started getting soft on the bottom. A couple of the last ones we picked were starting to turn brown in places, so I cut up a couple of them and started them in the pressure canner while we were blanching peaches. Now the pressure canner is finished and the water bath canners are heating up for today's peach run. The first 34 quarts are washed off and put away to make room for more on the cooling shelf. It's another great day to work inside since it's already 96*, the only problem with that is that the squash bugs are still out there munching away! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFern
Nothing better than home canned peaches! YUM!
ReplyDeleteThat is very true, Sandra, they are definitely yummy!
DeleteFern
I know it's off the peach topic, but are those yellow summer squash I see in jars on your countertop?? I did not know summer squash could be canned. If someone has had success with it, I would dearly love to try. I dry some into "zucchini chips," but I have limited freezer space and I so miss summer squash for cooking with in the winter months...
ReplyDeleteYes, MC, I can yellow squash. It is soft, but very useable. I think you will find the directions in most canning books. We use it in casseroles, stir fry, just all kinds of meals, and it sure tastes good in the winter. We also can our winter squash for the same purposes.
DeleteHere is how we do it: http://thoughtsfromfrankandfern.blogspot.com/2013/07/canning-squash-green-beans.html
Happy canning!
Fern