How to Can Peaches Step By Step

Summertime is peach time here in Virginia. We love to buy local peaches from Mrs. Bonnie down the road and spend the next few days creating delicious recipes. One of our favorite things to do is can peaches.

Canning peaches is an easy way to enjoy a taste of summertime all year round. Peaches also do well in the freezer! Freezer peaches make great cobblers and pies, while canned peaches are great for snacking anytime!

Gathering what you need to can peaches

As with any canning adventure it is best to gather all the necessary items prior to starting. There is nothing more stressful than trying to find something when you are elbow deep in canning. We have a great stress free guide to canning that really helps reduce the stress of the canning season and brings back the fun!

For peaches you will need a water bath canner or large heavy bottom pot for processing. I use my pressure canner without the pressure. You will also need the following.

• paring knife
• pot or sink full of ice water
• pot of boiling water
• Garbage bowl or nearby trashcan
• Sanitized jars (I use regular mouth quarts)
• lids and rings
• long handled wooden spoon
• Jar Lifter
• Lid lifter or tongs
• Small pot of simmering water for lids

Once you gather your items, you are set! Now you just need the peaches!

What type of peaches are best for canning?

There are a lot of different varieties of peaches out there. There are white peaches, yellow peaches, free stone and cling. It can be hard knowing which is the best for canning.

White peaches have far less acid in them than yellow peaches and are best served as a snack fresh or preserved using the freezer method.

Yellow peaches are my go to when canning not only for their bright beautiful color, but also because their acid content and structure hold up well to the pressure canner.

Cling or freestone? Well that is really all preference, but if you want beautiful peach halves it is going to have to be freestone. I personally hate working with cling peaches because of the difficulty in removing the pit. However, cling stone peaches are great canners if you aren’t worried about what they look like in the jar or the time it takes to clean and prepare them.

How to prepare peaches for canning

Wash and Halve

Preparing the peaches for canning is the most time consuming. Start by washing the peaches in cool water to rinse off any pollen and dirt. Then halve each peach removing the pit. I go through prepping about a half bushel at a time so the rest moves quickly.

Peel

Peaches should be peeled before canning to remove the little fuzzy skin. You can use a sharp paring knife, but I find that this is slow going and you lose a good bit of the flesh.

I prefer the hot water method.

To do this, bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. While this is coming to temperature, fill a separate pot with cold water and ice. I like to use store bought bags of ice as my fridge doesn’t make as much ice as I need for the bushels of peaches I like to can.

The purpose here is to drop the peaches in the boiling water only long enough to loosen the skin then shock them in the ice water to prevent cooking.

I do around 6 peach halves at a time leaving the peeled peaches in the cold water until I am ready to pack the jars.

Packing the jars to can peaches

Once your jars have been sanitized they are ready to pack. When packing peach halves you will want to place them cut side down in the jar to help reduce wasted space. I use a long handled wooded spoon for this to gently guide them into place. Usually I can get about 6 halves in one quart jar.

I only pack up to as many jars as my canner can hold at a time. In my case I can get 7 jars at a time in there. Once your jars are packed it is time to make the simple syrup and heat the lids.

Preparing the Simple Syrup

I like to can my peaches in a simple syrup. Simple Syrup is a two to one ratio of sugar to water, meaning the for every cup of liquid you put in half a cup of sugar.

To make the syrup add your water and sugar to a sauce pan and bring to a low simmer until all the sugar has been dissolved. Keep warm until ready to use in your peaches but be careful not to let it burn.

If there is any syrup left over at the end, store it in the fridge in a mason jar. It can be used for so many things, but one of my favorites is strawberry lemonade!

Canning Peaches

Once the syrup is ready, pour over the packed peaches leaving about 1 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims off with a clean damp paper towel and place your lid and ring and place in the hot water canner.

The water should cover around three quarters of the jar. Bring to a boil and process for 25 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove the jars carefully from their bath and allow them to sit on a towel on the counter until cooled completely and sealed.

If can take up to 24 hours for the jars to seal. Leave them alone until they are all sealed.

How to Serve Canned Peaches

Canned Peaches are delicious on their own with a little whipped cream on top. You can also use them in cobblers, cakes, and pies! Check out one of our favorite cobblers using peach and sourdough discard!

Enjoy!

Peaches as a true summertime treat and now you can enjoy them year round with this simple how to! We hope you give it a try and love it!

Follow us on Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious how to’s!

Print

5 from 2 votes

How to Can Peaches

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Active Time25 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Fruit, Snack

Cuisine: Canning

Keyword: Canned Peaches, Canning and Preserving, Peaches

Equipment

• Water Bath Canner
• Sterilized quart Jars
• Lids and Rings
• Jar Grabber
• Large Bowl of Ice Water
• Extra Ice
• Stock Pot of Boiling Water
• Paring Knife
• Medium Stock Pot
• Clean Damp Paper Towels

Materials

• 12 lbs Peaches
• 8 tsp lemon juice
• 3 cups Granulated
• 6 cups Water

Instructions

Prepare Peaches

• Wash, halve, and pit peaches
• Drop Peach halves gently into boiling water for 45 to 60 seconds
• Remove peach halves and immediately place in ice water to stop cooking
• Peel cooled peaches and in jars, stacking in such a way as to maximize space. Use the handle of a wooded spoon if necessary to position the halves.
• Repeat until all peaches are peeled and jars are filled.

Simple Syrup

• In a sauce pan combine sugar and 3 cups of water.
• Bring to a simmer stirring until the sugar dissolves completely.
• Pour simple syrup over prepared peaches in jars

To Can

• Wipe rims of jars with a clean damp cloth.
• Place lids centered on jars and fit the ring snuggly
• Process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes
• When complete, remove from water with jar grabber and allow to sit on a toweled counter until cooled completely and sealed.

Spread the love