Canning and preserving peaches is one of my favorite summer activities. It is also one of the first canning projects that beginners learn. Peaches are such an easy canning project and it is good to include your whole family. Throughout the year, we have peaches on our dinner table at least five days a week. The peaches are beautiful in the pantry and fabulous on your plate. Today I am going to give you a step-by-step tutorial to teach you how to can fresh peaches at home.
Canned peaches
How to Can and Preserve Fresh Whole Peaches
The following directions will make a 1-quart jar of canned peaches. This makes it easy to multiply the recipe for the number of jars you want to add to your food storage.
blanch and peel
The first step is to blanch and peel 2-4 peaches. Place them in a saltwater mixture of 1/4 cup salt in 1 gallon of water. This keeps them from turning brown. Here is a video teaching you hot wo blanch peaches.
hot water in the jar
Place a small amount of hot water into the bottom of the jar so it doesn’t break when you put in the cool peaches.
Then, halve or slice the peaches and remove the pit. I (marie) prefer to halve my peaches, but Emmaline likes to slice hers into 1-inch slices.
Place fruit in jars
Next, place your peaches into your hot jar. If you are doing slices you can use a jar funnel. If you do halves be sure that the cut side faces down.
Top the peaches with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice per peach.
Fill the rest of the jar with boiling hot water. Leave a 1/2 inch headspace.
Place the lid on top of the jar and add the ring. Tighten the ring to fingertip tight and process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes if at sea level. (Remember to adjust your processing time if higher than 1000 feet elevation.)
Once your peaches have completed the appropriate time in the boiling water bath canner take them out and set them on the counter, spacing them about an inch apart, for 24 hours to cool and completely seal.
If your jar of peaches did not seal then place it in the fridge and use it immediately. Store the sealed jars in your lovely pantry to enjoy for the next 1-3 years. After three years the nutritional value of canned food diminishes.
If you have any questions about canning with the boiling water canner or how to adjust the pressure or processing time for altitude, take a look at our canning basics videos.
