Wash jars in dishwasher or with hot soapy water. Rinse well.
Wash canning lids with hot soapy water. Rinse well
Prepare canning syrup by bringing water and sugar to a boil. Please see chart to adjust your syrup to your preference.
10 ½ cups water, 1 ¼ cups sugar
Peel peaches. Some peaches can be peeled with just a paring knife. Most will need to be blanched into boiling water for 1 minute and then into an ice bath. The skins should just slip right off.
17 pounds yellow peaches
Slice peaches in half, remove pit and then slice into wedges or leave as halves
Place peaches in prepared jars
Pour hot sugar syrup over peaches. Fill jars leaving ½ inch of headspace (space between top of liquid to top of jar)
Remove air bubbles by gently tapping jar against the counter or by carefully sliding a plastic knife around the sides of the jar
Wipe rim of jars with a clean cloth and place lids on top and then screw on rings
Place jars in a water bath in a water canner. Make certain water level goes over jars by at least one inch.
Boil jars in water bath for 25 minutes (adding additional time for your elevation)
When time goes off, turn off heat and let jars sit in the hot water bath for 5 minutes. This helps prevent siphoning, the liquid escaping from the jars.
Remove jars from water bath and set on a cooling rack
Let jars sit, undisturbed until fully cooled. Then check seals.
Remove rings from jars and wash outside of jars to remove any residue that may occur from canning
Label and date jars and store in a pantry
Notes
Adjust your sugar level according to your taste:
Syrup
Sugar
Water
Very Light
1 ¼ cups
10 ½ cups
Light
2 ¼ cups
9 cups
Medium
3 ¾ cups
8 ¼ cups
Heavy
5 ¼ cups
7 ¾ cups
Adjust your processing time according to elevation:
1,001- 3,000 ft. - add 5 minutes
3,001- 6,000 ft. - add 10 minutes
6,001- 8,000 ft. - add 15 minutes
8,001-10,000 ft. - add 20 minutes
Canning Tips:
Use fresh, ripe peaches that are free from blemishes and bruises (If there is just a small blemish or bruise, it's okay to slice it off after peeling the peach)
Plan on 3-5 peaches per quart jar. This will vary depending on the size of your peaches.
You can use quart or pint sized jars. The processing time is the same.
Use wide mouth jars or regular jars. I like to use wide mouth when I'm doing peach halves.
Inspect your jars before using. Don't use if the rim has any nicks or cracks or if there are any cracks in the jar.
Use new lids for canning
Keep your canning area clean and sanitized
If jars didn't seal, refrigerate jar and use right away. Do not store in pantry.
* White peaches are not recommended in this recipe. Their acidity level is different than yellow peaches are may not be safe for preserving with a water bath method.