A few weeks ago my sister-in-law gave me a big box of peaches. Some were starting to go bad, but I was thrilled to be able to have this fresh, organic produce.
I knew I had to deal with the peaches right away so I got to work that day and canned peach butter and sliced peaches as well as made peach fruit leather.
Peeling peaches is time consuming, but there is an easier method. Simply boil a large pot of water and add a few peaches at a time.
After a few minutes remove the peaches from the boiling water and put them in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
Boiling the peaches isn’t designed to cook them, but simply to make it easier to remove the peelings without the use of a knife.
Once the peaches are cool to the touch the skins should slip right off. You may have to use a knife if they don’t come off easily or you can start the process over again.
At this point you can slice up the peaches and freeze them, can them, or turn them into peach butter. Of course, you can always eat them, too. 
I ended up canning 6 pints of sliced peaches and 10 jars of peach butter. Yummy! (There are also several jars of salsa pictured above.)
To can sliced peaches you will need to fill clean, hot canning jars with sliced peaches.
Then you need to make a simple syrup* and add some to each jar, stopping 1/2 an inch from the top. Use a spatula to remove any air bubbles before adding lids and rings.
*To make a very light simple syrup for peaches you need 1 cup of sugar and 4 cups of water and bring the mixture to a boil.
Process pints for 25 minutes in a water bath canner. (For more info on using a water bath canner click here.)
With the remaining peaches I used an immersion blender to puree them.
To make peach butter I used a 2:1 ratio of peach puree to sugar. In this case I used 8 cups of peach puree and 4 cups of sugar.
I mixed the sugar and peach puree in a large pot and boiled it for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
When it was nice and thick, I ladled the peach butter into hot jelly/pint jars and topped it with rings and lids.
Then I put the jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
Julia and I think this is some of the best tasting stuff ever.
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Peach Puree
- 4 Cups Sugar
Instructions
- To make peach puree, follow the instructions at http://www.blessingsoverflowing.com/canning-peaches-peach-butter/.
- In a large pot combine the peach puree with the sugar.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Continue boiling the peach butter for approximately 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
- To can the peach butter, pour the hot mixture into hot jars.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel.
- Add canning lids that have been simmering in hot water.
- Screw on a canning ring.
- Put the jars into a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- Remove the jars and place on a towel to cool for 24 hours.
I also decided to try my hand at making peach fruit leather with some of the peach puree.
First, I lined two large baking sheets (with sides) with plastic wrap.
Then I poured peach puree onto the pans and spread it out with a spatula.
Make sure the peach puree isn’t thick or it will take forever to dry out.
Put the mixture into a low oven (200 degrees or less) for several hours.
When the peach fruit leather is dry it is ready to be eaten or stored for later.
My kids thought it looked gross because it was brown. It did taste good, though.
What would you have done with all of those peaches?
