After picking our own peaches this past weekend in Berryville, Virginia, my husband and I prepared ourselves for a first try with canning and freezing. Oh boy was it work! I think the hardest part was removing the skin, which, while made easier by blanching the peaches, still took the bulk of our time and energy. The best part about canning peaches though, in my opinion, is the delicious aroma of peaches and spice throughout the house.
Since we are beginner canners, we referenced 2 articles on canning. One article comes from my green friend Elizabeth, whose tips on canning were not only useful but detailed in such a way that I knew what to look and listen for (the sound of my cans popping when sealed was music to my ears! Thanks Elizabeth!). To create the recipe for my peach jam, I followed another article: Recipe Zaar’s Peach Jam Recipe. All together, the canning process took me about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from start to finish. It was quite an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon with the family, and the rewards this winter, I am sure, will be well worth the time and effort.
In addition to canning our peaches and making peach jam, my husband and I portioned off about 8 lbs. of peaches for freezing, which is a little bit easier than canning (although you still need to blanch the peaches and remove the skin). Here are a few tips on freezing your fruit. I can’t wait for winter smoothies and vegan fruit jello! Yum!
Hopefully we’ll continue with our canning and freezing in a couple of weeks when more apples are in season. On a final note, I think it is a good idea to invest in a pair of jar lifters (metal tongs are not necessarily the safest way to handle hot jars and it’s a little bit tricky to do too).
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on jarring, freezing, and preserving foods for the winter. Thanks for sharing!
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September 4th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Jar lifters are definately required! As time goes by, canning won’t take you as long because you’ll figure out little tricks to save you time. And, when you’re using fruit that doesn’t really have to be prepared, like raspberries or blueberries, it goes a lot faster than with all that peeling.
I’m glad you got in the kitchen and went for it!
September 4th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Yum! Can you recommend a recipe for vegan jello?
September 4th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Great job! I’m hoping the garden will go well enough next year for me to try canning and freezing. This year was not a great one for our garden.
September 4th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
*Abbie, thank you for the encouragement. Apparently I can go into the kitchen and not melt. =)
*Jane, I have to research a vegan jello recipe. If you find one that you like, I’d love to try it.
*Thank you Stephanie for the kind words. I have to say that canning is actually pretty easy. If you buy in bulk at your farmer’s market or at a pick your own farm, maybe you can try canning this year. =)
September 4th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Jane- Mary Jane Butters has vegan jello recipes made with some kind of algae/seaweed in one of her books. Here’s a link to her website, Mary Jane’s Farm: http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/
She has some pretty cool things to say.
September 4th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
P.S. They’re called “Chillovers”
September 6th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Thanks Abbie! I’ll definitely check out Mary Jane Butters recipe for chillovers.
September 7th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Looks good. I’ve made habanero jelly before, but that’s it. I’d love to do fruit sometime.