Friday, August 26, 2011

Project Peach, Canning Yumminess

We're clinging to spontaneous summer fun before our fall routine is in full swing with schedules.

After a week of enjoying Trader Joe's peaches, we decided to check out our local farm for our Project Peach, affectionately nicknamed "PP" by the boys...with ongoing outbursts of giggles - apparently potty humor never gets old!

Project Peach. From start to finish. Our version of the Sciene Channel's 'How It's Made'.

We started at the farm. It was so much fun watching them pick the peaches and running through the orchards.

We decided to make peach preserves. This is more than enough peaches for the recipe. I was told O'Henry are the best for canning.


This was my first time canning. So I'm not an expert. I'd like to think of myself as an enthusiast. So we enthusiastically worked through the recipe together...what a HUGE mess!



...but they were happy...and it was surprisingly manageable for a kid project.


Honestly, we were thinking of it more as an experiment!



No one was more surprised than I was that it was edible. And not just edible, but delicious. Spread on toast for this morning's breakfast. And again on toast for an afternoon snack.

The rest are on a shelf and ready for Holiday gifts. If they make it that long!



I'm pretty sure the consistency isn't close to what it should be...but I don't think it matters. The flavor is a-mazing.

If you're a new canner, looking for a fun activity for the kiddos, or needing to get through your peaches before they spoil, here's an easy recipe. It's from allrecipes.com and submitted by a guy named Kevin. Nice name, right? I was certain he knew a thing or two about peach preserves. Plus he received 4 1/2 stars!

Peach Preserves
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Ready In: 2 hrs
Servings: 64 (translates to 10 small mason jars)

Ingredients:
12 fresh peaches, pitted and chopped (I used O'Henry)
4 1/2 cups white sugar (ugh!...but sure was tasty!)
1 (2 ounce) package dry pectin

Directions:
1. Crush 1 cup chopped peaches in the bottom of a large saucepan. Add remaining peaches, and set pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a low boil, and cook for about 20 minutes or until peaches become mostly liquid with bits of peaches.
2, Pour peaches into a bowl, and then measure 6 cups back into the pan. Add sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Gradually stir in dry pectin and boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat after 1 minute and transfer to sterilized jars. process in hot water bath canner for 10 minutes, Let cool and place on a shelf.

Have any recipes you want to share? I'd love to hear them.

1 comment:

  1. I make fresh jam all the time. It's easy and tastes great. Sometimes I put a hint of vanilla in the pot. I actually don't use pectin, I just let it cook until it has the consistency I like...

    Thinking about making a peach pie next????

    ReplyDelete