Peaches

I may or may not have a slight obsession with peaches. I just might, maybe, may? I know I’ve said it before but fresh peaches are undeniably amazing. It wasn’t until recently that I learned that I LOVE peaches. All this time I thought because they made my throat itch, they weren’t any good. Turns out, it’s just the skin that bothers me. As long as I get that out of the way then I’m good to go. Earlier this week I posted Peach Butter – if you missed it, check it out! With this being my first time, I enlisted lots of advice from all over: co-workers, cookbooks, Pinterest, Facebook, and friends. Everyone was so helpful and the advice was much appreciated.

I originally wanted to get my peaches from Brigham City. Well aside from wanting my own peach tree, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, when I told the hubs where I wanted to pick up our peaches from he of course went right to researching. Mr. Research, that’s what I should call him. He doesn’t do anything without looking in to it to make sure it’s the best deal, best price, best quality, and best value. In the end I’m grateful because it always pays off. He found an organic orchard closer than we were planning: Fresh Off The Tree. Not only were the peaches closer than I was originally planning on, they were of course organic, AND believe it or not, cheaper than regular peaches.

We called the morning that we wanted them and they literally picked them “fresh off the tree” for us. They were ready that night for us to pick up. Their service was impeccable. Get a load of this – when we picked up our order (1 1/2 bushels) they said that some of them were small, so they through in an extra box to make sure we felt we got our money’s worth. Can you believe that? We ended up getting TWO bushels for the price of 1 1/2! In addition to ALL of that, the taste is beyond delicious! I hurried over to their site and make sure to give them some serious kuddos. You can see my comment on their home page that they’ve featured!

Peaches

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Peaches

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 14

Calories: 118 kcal

Author: Yvonne

Canning peaches is so much easier than you'd think - I suggest giving it a try!

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Ingredients

• Peaches

Simple Syrup (adjust to how many bottles you are canning)

• 4 c. water
• 1 c. sugar

Instructions

1. Boil sugar and water together five minutes. Keep hot. You'll need 1 1/2 cups syrup for each quart of fruit. Wash and clean your peaches in warm water. Remove debris and discard overly ripe/excessively bruised peaches. You won't need to take too much time, as you will be just peeling the skins off anyway. Before dropping in boiling water slice each peach down one side from top to bottom.
2. Blanch peaches for no longer than 30 seconds. Remove from boiling water and place in cold/ice water. Skins should easily peel from fruit. The more ripe the fruit, the easier it will be to peel. If your fruit is firm you may need to peel with a knife or vegetable peeler.
3. Once skins are removed slice peaches in half and remove pit. I also like to take out the red area surrounding the pit because it is bitter. At this point you can leave the peaches in halves or you can quarter them. You'll want to avoid slicing them too thinly or they will easily become mushy during their shelf life once processed.
4. Transfer as many as you can fit without squishing them in to hot clean jars. Pour hot syrup over peaches leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary by adding more syrup. Wipe rim and center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
5. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process quart jars for 20 minutes. Remove canner lid. Place on towel on counter and do not disturb until cooled.

Nutrition Facts

Peaches

Amount Per Serving

Calories 118

% Daily Value*

Sodium 3mg0%

Potassium 256mg7%

Carbohydrates 29g10%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 440IU9%

Vitamin C 8.9mg11%

Calcium 10mg1%

Iron 0.3mg2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here are a few extra tips that I’ve collected (THANK YOU!):

• If your peaches aren’t ripe, you can lay them on half of a blanket, covering them with the other half of the blanket overnight and they will ripen in no time. -Kirsche B.
• Make sure during the water bath processing your jars don’t touch, they will be less likely to break. – Amber B.
• Cut the peaches in only halves or quarters.  They hold up better and won’t get mushy as they sit on the shelf. – Deeann H.
• Take the rings off the jars to store them.  No matter how well you clean them they will still stick. – Hannah C.

P.s. we are totally planning on getting apples from Fresh Off The Tree when they are available. Can’t wait!