Everything is Peachy

As my quest to gather as much fresh fruit as possible this year continues, we decided to pick peaches for the first time ever. Now, Maine is not known for its peaches, but we take what we can get.

My husband and I set out to an orchard that is best known for its apples but discovered they grew peaches as well. Once there, we had to decide how much to pick before setting out. I figured since peaches are generally a good size, a peck sounded about right.

My goal was to can slices of fresh-picked peaches to enjoy throughout the winter. We walked past areas clearly marked “Do Not Pick. Not Ready,” so we continued on to what were supposedly the ready-to-pick peaches.

Don’t get me wrong, these trees were full, but we commented to each other on how small and hard the peaches were. We had never picked peaches before and had no clue if this was a good or bad thing, so we looked for the biggest ones we could find.

I figured they would ripen, as a lot of fruit does after it is picked.

That was not exactly what happened.

Here is what I learned.

They do not necessarily ripen to the point where they can be used for canning as slices. I almost ended up with jars of peach jam, which would have been good, but that was not the goal. Instead, it was recommended that I put them all in a paper bag with either an apple or a couple of bananas and hope for the best.

I did this with bananas because I happened to have some already, and waited. I checked them every single day for over a week. Then finally, one day I peeked in the bag and could actually smell that fresh, sweet peach scent.

I took out each peach one at a time and gently pressed it near where the stem had been. They were just soft enough that I had hope again that I would get my canned peaches. I took them all out of the bag and placed them in a glass bowl on my counter.

The bananas were set aside for banana bread—no waste.

After another two days, I thought the peaches were just right, and it was now or never. I set up my canning station with all the jars, lids, and bands ready to go and prepared to start peeling the peaches.

For peeling, I tried something I had learned about cutting a small X into the skin. For the most part, the skin pulled away so easily that it took me much less time than using the paring knife I had handy.

After peeling the peaches, I cut through to the pit, slicing all around from the stem to the bottom twice so that I had four sections. Once I slid my finger beneath the flesh, it pulled away from the pit nicely.

As I worked, I put the slices into a bowl of water with lemon juice to keep them from browning.

A little while later, after following canning instructions specifically for peaches, I ended up with seven pint-sized jars of beautiful fresh peach slices.

I am delighted that I was able to can them the way I wanted to, and the pint size is perfect for us portion-wise. Eating them just the way they are from the jar is perfect for me, but someone recommended using them as you would with strawberry shortcake, only with peaches.

Peach shortcake is now on my must-try list.