Canning Peaches for Food Storage

Preserve the flavors of summer by canning peaches while they are in season. Home canned peaches taste so much better than commercially canned.

In this safe canning recipe, peaches are blanched, peeled, sliced, packed into canning jars with a light syrup, and processed in a water-bath canner for shelf-stable jars.

Canned peaches are such a versatile fruit to have on hand. You can eat them right out of the jar, or use them in baked goods, blend into smoothies, and add as a topping to yogurt, pancakes, and waffles. Peaches also pair very well with pork and chicken.

This year, limited grocery store runs and availability had me shopping online for canned foods to replenish our pantry. Although I was happy to find and stock up on cans of peaches to help us get by, I discovered quickly that there is no comparison in flavor. I tried different brands, but none had the fresh, peach flavor of home canned jars.

I vowed to add more canned jars of peaches to our food storage. So once peaches started showing up in my grocery stores and at our local farmers’ market. I set off to start preserving with this simple canned peaches recipe.

Tips for Canning Peaches

Canned peaches are blanched, peeled, sliced, packed into canning jars with a light syrup, and processed in a water-bath canner for shelf stable jars.

Choosing Peaches for Canning

If I am canning peaches, I try to use the yellow-fleshed, freestone peaches because they are much easier to work with.

Yellow-Fleshed Varieties: Only the yellow-fleshed peaches can be canned safely. White- and or pale pink-fleshed peaches have a different acidity level than yellow. At this time, there is no tested safe canning recipe for white-flesh peaches. If you have white-fleshed peaches to preserve, freeze them instead.

Clingstone vs Freestone: There are two types of peaches, clingstone and freestone. They are called clingstone because the flesh clings to the pit. I find clingstone peaches are a hassle to trim into nice sized slices, and you may end up wasting some of the fruit.

The flesh easily separates from the pit of freestone peaches. This makes them much easier to clean and prepare for canning. Most early season peaches are clingstone varieties. If you are canning peaches for your food storage shelves, try to wait until mid- and late-season for the freestone variety.

Select Firm Fruit: Harvest or purchase good quality peaches at peak for the best flavor, texture, and color. Firm peaches are what you want to use for canning. They hold up better to the heat. If the peaches are too ripe, they will be too soft to take the heat and turn into a mushy mess…Still safe to eat, but not very pretty.

Choose unblemished ripe peaches that are still firm. Avoid peaches that are too hard, have green tinged skins, or with bruises and soft spots. Ripe peaches will smell sweet and fruity and yield slightly when pressed with your finger. If you are not canning your peaches the same day you purchased them, and they are at peak ripeness, place them in the refrigerator, so they don’t over-ripen. Peaches that are ripe, but firm can remain at room temperature.

Picking a Preserving Liquid

You can preserve peaches in a sugar syrup, honey syrup, apple juice, white grape juice, or plain water. Canning fruit in a syrup helps to preserve the flavor, shape, and color. I use a very light sugar syrup in this recipe, but feel free to substitute any of these options:

Syrup for 9 Pints:

• Very Light: 6 1/2 cups water and 3/4 cups sugar
• Light: 5 3/4 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Medium: 5 1/4 cups water and 2 1/4 cups sugar
• Heavy: 5 cups water and 3 1/4 cups sugar
• Light Honey: 7 cups water and 1/2 cups mild honey

Steps to Canning Peaches

If you are new to canning or haven’t canned in a while, it may be helpful to review this article on water bath canning at the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.

A more detailed and printable recipe can be found at the bottom of this article, but these are the general steps for canning peaches in pint-sized jars. See the notes in the recipe for quarts.

Step 1: Gather your canning supplies

• Water bath canner
• 9 pint sized canning jars
• Canning lids and bands
• Canning tools: lid lifter, jar lifter, canning ladle, funnel, and bubble popper
• Plus basic kitchen supplies such as a large sauce pot, large bowl, small pot, towels, large slotted spoon, knife, and a cutting board.

Step 2: Prepare the canning equipment

Wash the jars, lids, and canning tools in warm, soapy water and rinse well.

Place the jar rack into water bath canner, set the jars in the canner, add water, and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize. Warm your lids in a small pot over low heat. Keep jars and lids warm until ready to use.

Step 3: Peel the peaches

You will need about 11 pounds of peaches for a full canner load of 9 pint sized jars. Wash the peaches well under clean, running water.

Peel the peaches by blanching briefly in boiling water. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Cut a small X at the bottom of each peach. Dip the peaches into the boiling water until the skins loosen, about 30-60 seconds.

Remove the peaches from the pot and place in the bowl of ice water to cool. Drain the pot and let the peaches cool in the ice water while you make the syrup.

Step 4: Make the syrup

Add the sugar and water to the large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat to dissolve sugar, keep warm.

Step 5: Prepare the peaches

Peel the peaches once they are cool enough to handle. The skins should slip off easily. If not, use a pairing knife or vegetable peeler for stubborn skins.

Remove the pits from freestone peaches by cutting the fruit in half around the pit and twisting the halves in opposite directions. Remove the pit, keep in halves or slice the peaches if desired.

To slice clingstone peaches, remove peeling, cut toward the center of the fruit around the pit, and lift out each slice as you go. Trim off fibrous areas.

Add the peaches to the pot of prepared syrup as you work. Try to work quickly because peaches will begin browning when exposed to air.

Once all the peaches are in the syrup, cover the pot, raise the heat, and bring the pot to a boil. Keep the peaches hot, but you can reduce the heat so it does not splash.

Step 6: Can the peaches

Remove the warm jars from the canner, drain, and line up on a kitchen towel.

Use your canning funnel and ladle fill the jars with hot peaches, and pour the hot syrup over the peaches maintaining a 1/2-inch headspace. If you are canning half sized pieces, you can get more fruit into the jars if you stack the peach halves with the pit cavity side down.

Run the bubble popper through the jars to remove air bubbles. Add the lids and process in a water bath canner. Let the jars cool, test the seals, label and date the jars, and store the canned peaches in a cool, dark location.

Print

Canning Peaches for Food Storage

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

1 hr 20 mins

 

Preserve the flavors of summer by canning peaches while they are in season. Home canned peaches taste so much better than commercially canned.

Course: Pantry

Cuisine: American

Keyword: canning peaches

Servings: 27

Calories: 120 kcal

Author: Grow a Good Life

Ingredients

• 11 pounds fresh peaches yellow fleshed
• 6 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cups cane sugar

Instructions

Prepare the canning equipment:

1. Wash the canning jars and lids in warm, soapy water and rinse well.
2. Place the jar rack into the water bath canner, set the clean jars in the canner, add water, and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize.
3. Warm your lids in a small pot over low heat. Keep jars and lids warm until they are ready to use.

Blanch and peel the peaches:

1. Wash the peaches well under clean, running water.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water.
3. Cut a small X at the bottom of each peach. Plunge the peaches into the boiling water until the skins loosen, about 30-60 seconds.
4. Remove the peaches from the pot and place in the bowl of ice water to cool. Drain the pot and let the peaches cool in the ice water while you make the syrup.

Make the sugar syrup:

1. Add the sugar and water to the large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat to dissolve sugar, keep warm.

Prepare the peaches:

1. Peel the peaches, remove the pits, and slice in halves or pieces.
2. Remove the pits from freestone peaches by cutting the fruit in half around the pit and twisting the halves in opposite directions until one side releases. Remove the pits and keep in halves or slice the peaches if desired.
3. To slice clingstone peaches, remove peeling, cut toward the center of the fruit around the pit, and lift out each slice as you go.
4. Add the peaches to the prepared syrup and bring to boil.

Can the peaches:

1. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter. Use your jar lifter to remove warm jars from the canner, drain, and line up on the towel.
2. Use your canning funnel and ladle, to fill the warm jars with hot peaches and top off with the syrup leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
3. Run you bubble popper through the peaches to to release air bubbles.
4. Wipe jar rims with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place the lids on the jars, gasket side down. Screw the metal band down fingertip tight.
5. Place jars into canner with the jar lifter. Adjust the water level so it is at least one inch above the jar tops. If adding water, pour the water in between the jars and not directly onto them. Use the hot water from the small pot your lids were warmed in.

6. Cover the canner and bring to boil over high heat. Once water boils vigorously, process pints for 20 minutes at altitudes of less than 1,000 ft. (adjust processing time for your altitude if necessary).

7. When processing time is complete, turn off heat and allow the canner to cool down and settle for about 10 minutes.
8. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter; remove the cover by tilting lid away from you so that steam does not burn your face.
9. Use a jar lifter to lift jars carefully from canner and place on the towel. Allow the jars to cool for 12 to 24-hours. You should hear the satisfactory “ping” of the jar lids sealing.
10. After 12 to 24-hours, check to be sure jar lids have sealed by pushing on the center of the lid. The lid should not pop up. If the lid flexes up and down, it did not seal. Refrigerate jar and use up within a few days.
11. Remove the screw on bands and wash the jars. Label and date the jars. Store your jars in a cool, dark place and use within 12 months. Yields about 9 pint jars of peaches.

Recipe Notes

This recipe is for canning pint jars of peaches. If you are canning quarts, you will need about 17 1/2 pounds of peaches for a full canner load of 7 quarts. Increase the processing time to 25 minutes at altitudes of less than 1,000 ft.

Syrup for Canning in Quart Jars:

• Very Light = 10 1/2 cups water and 1 1/4 cups sugar
• Light = 9 cups water and 2 1/4 cups sugar
• Medium = 8 1/4 cups sugar and 3 3/4 cups sugar
• Heavy = 7 3/4 cups sugar and 5 1/4 cups sugar
• Light Honey = 11 cups water and 1 cup honey

This is a tested safe canning recipe from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. Changing the recipe may make the product unsafe.

Canning Resources and Further Reading:

• Syrups for Canning Fruit – National Center for Home Food Preserving
• Frequently Asked Canning Questions – National Center for Home Food Preserving
• USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning

You May Also Like:

• Sweet Cherry Jam Canning Recipe
• Spiced Apple Jelly Canning Recipe
• Honey Sweetened Grape Jelly Canning Recipe

Good planning is key to a successful vegetable garden

Whether you are new to growing your own food or have been growing a vegetable garden for years, you will benefit from some planning each year. You will find everything you need to organize and plan your vegetable garden in my PDF eBook, Grow a Good Life Guide to Planning Your Vegetable Garden.