Size – Larger peaches have more flesh per peach, and will save you quite a bit of time in peeling.Clingstone peaches are a bit more work, but they often have amazing flavor in return, just plan on canning them as slices. Older varieties and backyard trees may be clingstone, which makes it nearly impossible to can peach halves. Freestone or Clingstone – Most grocery store peaches are freestone these days, and the flesh comes away easily from the pit.Here are a few things to consider when choosing peaches for canning: Just about any yellow fleshed peach can be preserved by canning, but some will do better than others. If you have white peaches to preserve, the only approved method is freezing, so maybe skip the canner altogether to be on the safe side? Choosing Peaches for Canning White peaches would require either higher pressure to be safe, and that might just pulverize the tender fruit.Īs always, if you’re canning at home, use your best judgment. Yellow peaches are pressure canned at 6 pounds of pressure for 10 minutes anywhere below 2,000 feet in elevation. While you don’t need to pressure can yellow peaches, some people prefer to pressure can in general and there is an approved method. Pressure canning is also another option if you have a bumper crop of peaches. Home-canned mangoes are one example of another low acid fruit that’s not acidic enough on its own, but it should, in theory, be safe with added lemon juice. There’s currently no tested safe method for canning white-fleshed peaches, but theoretically, they should be fine for canning using the same methods as other low acid fruits. Fruits must have a pH below 4.6 to be safe for canning, and white-fleshed peaches may not quite make it. While yellow peaches are a high acid food, some varieties of white flesh peaches have a more delicate flavor and far less acidity. Scientists at the National Center for Home Food Preservation recently discovered that some varieties of white-flesh peaches may not be safe for canning. White-fleshed peaches are another matter. Peach Varieties Safe for CanningĪll known varieties of yellow-fleshed peaches are safe for water bath canning at home. I use very light syrup when canning peaches, but there are plenty of choices based on your preferences. You could barely taste the fruit, and peach-colored candy is a better description of the results.įast forward a few decades and I still can’t handle over-sweetened canned goods, jam or otherwise. At that point in my life, more sugar made everything better and I just about ruined the batch. I was a kid, and I got to choose how much sugar went into the batch. My first batch was admittedly a bit lackluster.
Call it a gateway fruit if you want, but I was hooked. Peaches, or more specifically, peach jam was the first thing I canned with a mentor in my youth. Every year I buy a case and can up a big batch for wintertime peach cobbler. In the meantime, our local food coop imports Amish peaches from Pennsylvania by the caseload. Plant breeders have been hard at work, and there are now several varieties that produce well in our area. We’re in zone 4, and it’s hard to find peach varieties for cold climates. We’re just getting in our first peach trees this year, and it’ll be a while until we have our own homegrown peaches. Home-canned peaches stored in glass mason jars also taste dramatically better than store-bought peaches in tin cans, and if you have your own peach tree they’re almost free. All you need is a few jars, a big pot, and a little sugar and you’re on your way. Canning peaches is surprisingly easy to do at home.
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