I love my Dad. He’s a good man and just so darned cute. Case in point, two weeks ago he brought a box of peaches to the house and asked if I could do something with them. Hmmm…he loves home-canned peaches. Do you think he was {secretly} hoping I’d preserve this box for him? Absolutely! And, you know what, I’m only too happy to oblige. Not just because he’s my Dad, I know some of this bounty will go into my pantry too.
The process of canning is simple. Fruit, sugar, water, lemon, jars, lids, and time – it’s that easy. No need for large-scale work. I am a fan of the “small batch” method, which reduces the workload to a manageable morning or afternoon project. Not only does it make canning a more pleasurable experience but I also don’t end up swimming in preserves even after I’ve given away jars to extended family and friends.
Today, I’m canning eight pounds of Utah peaches. Here’s what works for me:
Ingredients
peaches, ripe
water
sugar
lemon juice or ascorbic acid
jars and lids
Directions
1. Wash peaches.
2. Prepare canner. Sterilize jars in dishwasher on the sterilize setting or immerse in boiling water for 15 minutes. Keep jars hot until ready to use. Place lids in a pot of simmering water to sterilize – do not boil them.
3. In a medium size pot add 5 3/4 cup water and 1 1/2 cups sugar to make a simple syrup.
4. To prevent fruit browning when being sliced, put water and lemon juice or ascorbic acid (as per manufacturer’s directions) in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
5. Carefully place peaches in a pot of boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Remove to an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.
6. Taking one peach at a time from the cold water, score it with an “x” on the bottom-side. Remove skin. Slice, remove pit, and place peach slices in the bowl of ascorbic acid. Continue until all peaches are sliced.
7. Place all peach slices in hot simple syrup and bring to boil.
9. Remove jars from hot water. Ladle hot peach slices and simple syrup into jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. (Headspace is the space between the top of the peaches in syrup and the top of the jar.) Do not overfill.
10. Slide a clean plastic knife along inside of jar to remove air bubbles.
11. Carefully wipe rim and thread of jars with a clean cloth.
12. Take each lid out of hot water and place it, rubber gasket side down, on each jar. Remove bands from hot water and screw onto jars until fingertip-tight. Do not over tighten.
13. Carefully place jars in canner of hot water (also known as a “water bath”). Do not place more jars in canner than is appropriate – jars too close together may break during the processing.
14. Add more water to completely cover jars by at least 1-to-2-inches. Be sure to add more boiling water during the processing time, if necessary.
15. Bring water temperature up to a rolling boil, cover pot and process for 20 minutes, if you are at sea level. If you are 1,000-3,000 feet above sea level, process for 25 minutes. If you are 3,00o-6,000 feet above sea level, process for 30 minutes. If you are 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level, process for 35 minutes. And, if you are more than 8,000 feet above sea level, process for 40 minutes.
15. When the processing time is up, lift jars carefully from canner and place on a clean tea towel on the counter. Leave to cool completely – 12 to 24 hours. You will hear lids make a popping sound as the centre lid gets sucked down by the contracting air in the jar and seals. This is a very satisfying sound.
16. Test the jar lids to ensure proper sealing took place by depressing the centre of the lids. If the centre of the lid moves up and down, the jar did not seal correctly. Any jars that have not sealed properly should be stored in the refrigerator and the contents should be eaten within 1-2 weeks.
17. Store jars in a cool, dark, place for up to one year.
Other Useful Sources
Timetables for Canning at Altitude at: http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_FoodPreservation_2010-01pr.pdf
Selecting, Preparing and Canning Peaches from the National Center for Home Food Preservation: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/peach_sliced.html
Small Batch Canning: http://www.thekitchn.com/why-small-batch-canning-is-awesome-and-what-you-need-to-get-started-urban-preserving-from-marisa-mcc-172475
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