How to Can Peaches {Best Guide to Canning Peaches}

There is nothing more amazing than juicy peaches. Fresh or canned peaches are my favorite summer fruits. See recipes like Peach Pie with Crumb Topping or Instant Pot Peach Chicken in Honey Balsamic Sauce or Instant Pot Southern Peach Cobbler or Juicy Peach Cream Cheese Hand Pies or Peach Pie Lasagna or Moist Peach Cobbler Coffee Cake Muffins

It's a bummer that we can enjoy fresh peaches only for a limited season, but what if we tell you there's a way to enjoy peaches anytime of the year? That's right, today we are going to teach you how to can peaches, step by step!

Some basics about canning Peaches

Humans have preserved all kinds of fruits since time immemorial, but if there's any fruit that takes almost no effort to preserve, it's definitely peaches!

All you have to really do as prep work is to peel them, and peaches are so easy to peel unlike some fruits (we are looking at you, watermelon!)

Now, there are actually many ways you can preserve peaches. You can make a jam out of it, a syrup or just straight up freeze them!

But if you listen to the expert, the best way to preserve peaches, it is to simply can them. This way you get peaches which are still moist and not dried out. The extra syrup also helps!

Although you have to be careful to go light in the syrup department, as you want to taste the actual fruit, and not the sugar!

What do we need do to can Peaches?

You cannot just use any old tin can and a canner to can your peaches. You need a whole range of tools to make sure your peaches are securely sealed.

In addition to this you also need to decide what preservative you'll use with your peaches.

And that's not all, you also need to select the best type of peaches that look and taste great even after being canned. We know all of this sounds exhaustive, but trust us that it's worth the effort! And the list is actually not even that long!

How to Choose the best Peaches?

Of course the first thing you need is peaches. But there are so many types of them! There are peaches which are freestone, which means they cut into halves easily and their pits are easier to separate. Then there's clingy types of peaches which are difficult to peel and pit, as the name goes. We suggest you stick to freestone peaches for the ease of effort. Also, another tip, don't can white peaches. Their pH levels are just too high and canning them is not at all safe!

1. You'll need two large sized bowls at least when canning peaches (or really anything!). To be on the safer side, you can get three big bowls!
2. You'll obviously require a canner to seal it off. Now there are basically two types of canners. There's the simple water bath canner and a pressure based canner. If you have neither of them then just get a stockpot which has a nice rack at the bottom of it!
3. You'll need canning tongs or also called jar lifters.
4. Next you'll need a jar. It can be a quart or a pint. In addition to this you should also getlids, rings and a funnel.
5. Select your preservative from either sugar, honey, or juice. In addition to this preservative you'll need a citric element. Lemon juice works great to cut the sweetness!
6. Now here comes the basic tools that should be easily available to you. They are: (1)paring knife! (2) cutting board; (3) metal spoon; (4) butter; (5) towels.
7. Last but not the least, you need comfortable shoes. Because trust us, canning Peaches is going to take a while and you don't want your feet to be sore.

Steps to Canning Peaches!

Now that you have your perfect peaches and all the necessary tools and ingredients assembled together, it's time you put on your comfy loafers and get to work! We'll run you through each steps.

• First let's get the canner ready. If you're using a water bath one then you need to prepare it first.
• Just fill it with water and boil it.
• Make sure the water is kept when the fruit is ready to go in it.
• Next clean and wash your jars and make sure they are intact with no damage or cracks on them.
• Do this same washing and cleaning with your lids as well!

Now it's time to pay attention to the peaches. First, wash them under running water. Then take your paring knife and cut them into neat equal halves. Then remove the pits. Do this with every single peach. Make sure you place these cut peaches in a large bowl that is filled with lemon juice. You can use citric acid, but lemon juice is better with less chemical feel and taste.
It's time to prepare the syrup! Take a pot and put in sugar (or whatever you chose) and water. Bring it to heat and stir it until it thickens into a syrup. Start adding your peaches at this point layerwise. Keep an eye when the skin starts to separate from the fleshy part. That means it's time to take it out!
Use a spoon with slots to take out your peaches and put them in an icy cold water bath for a minute. Now you can easily pull back the skin from the peaches and remove it. Now you can do either two methods of packing your peaches. Either hot pack them, which means cooking the peaches in the syrup before canning it. Or raw pack the peaches, which means just putting the peaches raw inside the jar. We personally prefer the hot pack method, but the choice is yours in the end!
With the help of your fork add all the peaches into the jar. Fill the jar up but leave two inches of space below the lid. Because next we'll be adding in the hot syrup with the help of a funnel. Make sure you leave about 1⁄2 inch space between the lid and the syrup.
Use chopsticks or any long enough utensil to get rid of all the air bubbles. Wipe clean the rim and seal the jar with a lid. All that's left to do now is to put in the ring and make it tight around the rim.

9. Make sure the water in the canner is boiling hot when you're placing the jar in it. Keep the jar there for about twenty minutes to process. Once that's done, remove the jar from the canner.
10. This is the last step! Place the jar on a clean towel and leave them to cool for about half a day. If you have done everything right, the lid should make a popping sound after thirty minutes! Once the jars have lounged around enough, you can use it or store it away!

Canning peaches can look like a lot of hard work, but the reward of eating homemade canned peaches without any chemical additives is just way too much to not give it a try! We assure you that once you taste your own canned peaches, you'll never buy store bought canned peaches ever again!