Peel your peaches. Sometimes, you'll get a peach variety that can easily be peeled as soon as the peach is ripe, without blanching the peach. But most peaches need to be blanched first.
6 quarts sliced peaches
Set a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil
Fill a large bowl with ice water
Place 3-4 peaches into the boiling water at a time for 30-60 seconds. The time will vary depending on your peaches. Test them out at 30 seconds and if they need more time, just put them back in.
Place peaches into the ice water bath
Peel peaches using a paring knife. If the peel is stuck, dunk it back into the boiling water for a bit longer.
Cut peaches in half and remove the pit. If your peaches have a rough area around the pit, just trim it off. My peaches were really red around the pit and with a very fibrous layer.
Slice into small slices. Depending on the size of my peach, I sliced each one into 12ths or 16ths.
Place slices into another bowl filled with cool water and ¼ cup of lemon juice to prevent the slices from browning.
¼ cup lemon juice
Boil the Peach Slices
Fill a pot with fresh water and bring to a boil
Add about 6 cups of sliced peaches to the pot.
Bring water back up to a boil and boil for one minute.
Remove slices and place in a bowl
Repeat with remaining slices, working with just 6 cups at a time. Keep the peaches warm while making the filling
Filling
In a large pot, place sugar, Clear Jel, water and spices together
Whisk over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken
Add lemon juice and boil for one minute, stirring constantly
Add peach slices and fold in using a large wooden spoon or spatula
Heat for 3 minutes over medium low heat
Fill the Jars
Place hot filling immediately into hot pint or quart sized jars leaving a 1 inch headspace
Try to remove any large bubbles with a debubbler or a small plastic spatula
Wipe down rims. Add lid and ring to jar.
Place in a water bath canner partially filled with simmering water
Repeat with remaining jars
Process the Jars
Once all jars are in the canner, add additional hot water if needed. The water level should be 1-2 inches above the top of the jars.
Place a lid on the canner and turn the heat up to high Once the water comes to a full, rolling boil start your timer.
Process both pints and quarts for 30 minutes adding additional time for your elevation (see chart below)
When the time is up, turn off the heat but keep the lid on the pot and keep the jars in the pot for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and keep the jars in for another 5 minutes. This will help prevent siphoning.
Remove jars and place on a baking rack until jars are fully cool approximately 12-24 hours. When fully cool, remove bands and check seals. Wash outside of jars and label jars with content and date.
Store in a cool dark place for up to 1-2 years
Notes
Have all ingredients and equipment set out before you get started with this recipe
Read through the entire recipe before beginning so you are familiar with the process
Always plan enough time when canning. Add additional time for water to boil. You don't want to run out of time in the middle of any canning project.
Filling may be canned in quarts or pint sized jars. The processing time is the same for both jars.
Adjust your processing time according to elevation: