Canning peaches is one of my favorite things to do each summer so I thought I would go ahead and repost this handy dandy tutorial on how to can peaches for those of you who have never done it before, or just need a quick refresher course.
For this batch I used about 10 pounds of peaches and it netted me 12 pint jars.
All you really need are peaches, sugar, water and a little Fruit Fresh to prevent your peaches from browning.
The following is a recipe excerpt from the Complete Guide to Home Canning by the United States Department of Agriculture. I have added pictures and side notes for you. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comment section below.
PEACHES — HALVED OR SLICED
Quantity: An average of 17 1/2 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 16 to 24 quarts, which is an average of 2 1/2 pounds per quart.
Quality: Choose ripe, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking.
Procedure: Dip fruit in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds until skins loosen. Dip quickly in cold water and slip off skins. Cut in half, remove pits and slice if desired. To prevent darkening, keep peeled fruit in ascorbic acid solution. Prepare and boil a very light, light, or medium syrup or pack peaches in water, apple juice, or white grape juice. Raw packs make poor quality peaches.
Sugar Syrup – 10 cups of water and 5 cups sugar. I bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes before packing my jars with fruit, and then pouring the syrup over the peaches.
Hot pack — In a large saucepan place drained fruit in syrup and bring to boil. Fill jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Place halves in layers, cut side down.
Raw pack — Fill hot jars with raw fruit, cut side down, and add syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.
Find more of my Canning Recipes HERE
If you are new to canning {or just looking for more recipes} I highly recommend the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It’s filled with 400 recipes and it pretty much rocks in my opinion.
And if you are looking for a canner, I used the Granite Ware 11-1/2 Quart Covered Preserving Canner with Rack
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kerry says
How long did you process them for .
Mavis says
I processed mine for 20 minutes. It’s based on the elevation. Check the post and you’ll be able to figure out how low to process based on your elevation. 🙂
Laura Boon says
I always cold pack my peaches, however, my Mom taught me as her Mom did many years ago, that we always put a peach pit in the bottom of each jar prior to filling the jars! Wow, it always infuses just that much more flavor to each jar of fruit!! This will be my first year canning without my Mom, we used to always work together in the fall of the year….”thanks Mom” for all the great stories of family while we spent our time together. I’m canning today, will dedicate the day to the best “MOM” ever!! xx
Mavis says
What a great tribute to a mom who clearly taught you well!
Lou says
My memories of canning are with my grandmother. She would sit in her grape arbor and prepare her fruit for jams and jellies. I was the one who got to wash the jars – any kind of jar was what she used. Such great memories of peaches, pickles, tomatoes, beans, tomato juice, pears… They were such special gifts around the holidays or when the weather was nasty and you couldn’t get that type of fruit. Just go down in the basement and get a jar off the shelf. She even stored eggs in some sort of gel that kept them from spoiling. Such wonderful memories.
Maggie says
I also learned to can with my Mom…. Her story was a little green acreish. lol We lived just outside New York City and when they retired they moved to the Finger Lake area of NY, She began to can at 50, I was 18 and we really learned together. I can many more things than she did, but still am not able to make her sweet pickle relish. When I can it feels like we are together. She has been gone for 22 years now. I, like you, was truly Blessed in the Mom department. Will try your peach pit tip this year in a few and test the result. Happy canning. 🙂
Ginny Pearson says
Don’t know what there is to the pit, but we used them grandmother, to mom, to me to daughters and now granddaughters & granddaughter in laws. We cook a pit with our preserves too. What flavor and in reading it is used in laotril (spelling) in Mexico in cancer treatment,. Canning in the northeast right now!!
Jenn says
At my grocery stores, I love it when the peaches go on sale for so cheap but they’re usually hard as rocks. Can I still can those? Will the sugar sweeten them up? Or do you only use ripe peaches to can? Thank you for helping a newbie canner!
Beth says
Jenn,
My Dad has orchards so I have canned alot of fruit- I would recommend that you let the peaches ripen before you can them.
Happy canning!
Beth says
Mavis,
You have been so inspiring to me! I have to tell you a funny story- my Dad has orchards nearby and also grows vegetables for area vegetable stands- my daughter and I recently went there to get cherries and I am currently making cherry jam and danish cherry sauce. I took him some homemade banana bread and strawberry bread (your recipe) and some homemade jam and told him it was my payment for the cherries and a deposit for future bartering! He thought I was a bit loony but I explained that I read your blog daily (actually several times daily) and I am following your example….I am always saying “Guess what Mavis said today….and no one asks who you are because I have talked about you so much….thank you for your blog!
Mavis says
Awesome! I would gladly barter some of my carrots right now for some cherries! Yum Yum Yum! 🙂
Debbie T says
Mavis, love your blog… It brightens my day. What is a good price for peaches? I never thought of buying them at the grocery store for canning? Thanks for all you do.
Mavis says
I think around .75 – .80 cents a lb for good ones.
Helen in Meridian says
Did you barter a special price on 50# of peaches at Safeway?
CathyB says
Interesting that they think raw pack creates a lesser quality of canned peach. I have always raw packed my canned peaches and LOVE the taste and texture. I was always afraid hot pack would cook my peaches too much and make them mushy. Maybe I should try a batch hot packed to compare – then again – why mess with what works?
Erin says
I agree with CathyB, I have always raw packed my peaches and my husband raves about them. Prior to canning peaches I was freezing them in thawed frozen orange juice concentrate, but the freezing is what I think makes the peaches a bit mushy. But yes, why mess with what works?
Donna Jantzer says
I also can my peaches raw pack style. It is easier to skip that step of heating the peaches. But, thinking that it would get more peaches in the jar, I tried the hot pack method. I, too, thought it may make them mushy. I noticed no significant difference in product. It was not as much trouble as I thought, though. But I will keep doing the raw pack.
subienkow says
I first saw you on cnn’s site, and I love what you’re doing. I came here and read a little more, and I must say, I am a little heart-broken that there is a “Mr. Pilgrim.” Such is life…
I wanted to comment on this post to give you another idea with peaches. If you and Mr. Pilgrim want a ‘sipping’ drink in the middle of winter, do all the regular prep work with the peaches, but put them in a jar & pour in vodka. Seal the jar the way you normally would in a bath, then leave it for a winter’s night by the fireplace. That’s it, no sugar, no other syrups, just peaches and vodka sealed up for a few months.
Good luck with this year’s harvest!
Mavis says
I’ll tell Mr. Pilgrim about your idea… LOL 🙂
Heather says
I love this place for ideas. I am canning peached tomorrow. I tried cherry jam, made my own cherry blueberry jam recipe, and canned cherries.
I ordered the Ball canning book from Amazon and got it in 2 days! IT was awesome. I now have 50 cucumbers waiting to be transformed and a garden full of stuff.
I think I may run out of jars. BTW- TArget has them on sale today. I picked up 2 cases of the quart jars for 9.99 each
Edith says
go to the general dollar store pints are $7.50 and the qts. are $8.50
Carly says
I canned a bunch of peaches,but now they have turned all white….what causes that?
Kristina says
BE SURE to buy FREESTONE peaches, or you’ll have a terrible time getting out the pit. Some varieties of peaches don’t release their skins easily, either, even using the method described above. BUT a soft fruit peeler does the trick quite nicely 🙂
cristy says
I agree with letting the peaches ripen before canning. I pick my peaches fresh from the local orchard then wait 2-3 days before canning them. My family prefers Red Havens which are not freestone, but slice right off the seed nicely. I also have no issues with peeling the skins using the method above. We prefer the light syrup — add a little cinnamon and vanilla — YUMMY!
robin says
I have always raw packed my peaches, as have aunts, uncles, grandmothers, etc. They are excellent quality. A fresher and firmer product in the end.
Roxanne G says
if you are adding cinnamon and vanilla, do you use liquid vanilla or vanilla bean? which would be better? thankyou.
Jenn says
Mavis, Did you use a pressure canner or the hot water bath to can your peaches? I’m waiting on Elberta peaches to come out in a few more weeks and I would love to can some of them. I just put up a case of June Gold’s last week, but I froze most of them and then made your freezer peach jam.
Thanks,
Jenn
Mavis Butterfield says
I used a hot water bath canner. 🙂
Betty Jordan says
I used the hot water bath canner last year for 25 minutes and mine were beautiful and also delicious. Tip: after I peeled them I sprinkled fruit fresh on them to keep them from turning until I could get them canned.
Lea says
I have always used a slightly different method. I was taught by my mother when I was young. She hated making the simple syrup and having some left over or having to make another batch. Instead, we placed 1/8 to 1/4 cup of sugar in the quart jars then a ladle full of boiling water, stirred until sugar dissolved. No left over syrup and no need to make a 2nd batch if you didn’t make enough in the first batch!! I generally use the lesser amount of sugar when I can peaches.
Susan says
How much Fruit Fresh would you add, if you were canning a bushel of peaches? I cannot read the print on the jar and am unsure of how much to add.. Anybody have any idea ? I don’t have any problems canning them other than the amount of Fruit Fresh to add. I just don’t want brown peaches ! 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
Geez, I just sprinkle it on and don’t really measure. I would say about a half a jar maybe.
Charyl says
I am new and never canned before. I have an opportunity to purchase some peaches in bulk next weekend and thought I would try my hand at preserving them like mentioned above in the Raw form. I have a question though. When you say put them in hot jars, in what manor do I get them hot?
Darlene says
Is it necessary to use hot water bath or pressure cooker when canning peaches? If you cans are hot and your lids are boiled and if I blanche my peaches and use boiling syrup should that not work?
Dee says
I am canning right now, but can’t find how to can white peaches, that are already sweet, with just water, and your tips say that raw pack does not make good peaches. I would like to make these peaches with just using cold water, and set them into the bath. No sugar no nothing with the water. I have the fruit acid from Ball’s that stops browning. What would be the best way? These peaches are super sweet. ty.
jennifer says
Canning white peaches is no different from canning yellow peaches. I think the sugar helps to preserve the peaches though…but don’t quote me. I have a feeling that canning in plain water would dilute the sweetness to the point that the peaches wouldn’t taste so good down the road.
Denise says
Ya, it happened. I didn’t put the sugar in there, and it is awful, no taste at all. I have never had such bad peaches. The peaches I got, were so good, and so sweet, and thought it would taste good, natural, but it was awful.
jennifer says
I have canned peaches a few times over the years. They ALWAYS end up sorta mushy, despite following the processing time exactly (I live at sea level). Any suggestions anyone? Is it that I need to start with harder peaches? If so, doesn’t that make it brutal to skin and cut from the pit? Side note: I can’t get good peaches at the farmer’s market here for less than $3.50 a lb. Lame.
Jennifer says
Hi! My Gramma and I were canning peaches yesterday. She used the pressure canner. I used a water bath, Raw packed. I processed them for about 30-35 minutes. My Gramma’s peaches came out darker and more orange color, like the canned peaches you buy in the store. Mine water bath ones are quite light in color. About the same color as they went in. Is this Ok? Is this normal?
Mavis Butterfield says
Did you sprinkle them with fresh fruit? That would prevent browning.
Annette says
My grandma never pressure canned peaches. She said it would ruin them.