Peaches(strawberries) and Peach Honey

This is Georgia so we have to have a peach post on the blog. Here are the peaches.

 

This is about 14 lbs of peaches. I saved a few so used about 12 lbs. 

At the start I wanted just some canned peaches to eat with some homemade yogurt (which I have to make tomorrow) but then I remembered the 3 pints of strawberries I got for $ .99  each today so added in two of those. 

To start with you peel the peaches. I know you are supposed to put them in boiling water and then ice water but I have never found that to be a good way to do it. I never have enough ice and when I use that method the peaches are all slimy and hard to deal with afterwards. I just buy my peaches a bit under ripe and peel them like an apple. 

 

I saved the peelings because I found a recipe for peach honey that I wanted to try (this was an early picture, later there was a large pot of peelings). 

Cut the peaches in half and crack them off of the pit, if possible.

Then clean out the core, just like you would an apple. I put them in the pot and added some Ball Fruit Fresh to keep the color. Then added water and sugar. I added enough water to just cover them and enough 3 cups of sugar. (At this point I decided to use the strawberries so cleaned and took the tops off those and added them to the pot.).

I brought these to a boil and boiled about 5 minutes which made some of the strawberries a bit mushy but I am sure they wills still taste good. I put them in the jars, cleaned the rims and boiling water bathed them for 25 minutes.

Peach Honey

Now while this was going on there was another pot on the back of the stove with the peelings and water in them. I boiled the peelings until the juice turned a very pretty pinkish-red color.  I then strained it and put it back in the pan, added half the amount of sugar to juice which in the is case turned out to be 5 cups of sugar and brought it to a low boil and let it stay that way for quite a while. 

It was supposed to thicken. After an hour or so of no change I gave up and added the suggested amount of 2 tablespoons of pectin and then boiled it for a minute and then put it in jars. 

Hopefully it will thicken as it sets. Knowing my luck with these things, I will end up with peach jelly instead but that will be just as good anyway. The point is that I didn't waste the peelings. I also saved them when I drained them and will be giving them to the ducks when I feed them later.
Here are the end results.