That problem was solved yesterday when some storms came through.
Yeah, half the tree just bent right over. Too many peaches, then water weight on the leaves and it was way too heavy. It did not break the tree but I will have to cut it back pretty good this year because those branches aren't going back up even though I have picked the peaches now.
Yes, three more bags of peaches.
It sounds so simple to can peaches when you read it on a website. Just pop them in boiling water, then cold water and the skins will just peel right off.......LIES! Ha, yeah, that only worked for the larger, riper peaches, the smaller, harder peaches (which was 75% of them) have skin that just doesn't come off and you spend forever peeling them. Then the website said just look for the line already on the peach and cut on it and most of the peaches will just break in half....LIES! I had one that broke in half.....some had oddly shaped pits, some had pits that weren't entirely in the center...most would not come away from the pits at ALL! In the end, once the big peaches were done and I was stuck with the smaller ones, I just sat down and peeled them with a paring knife and cut off all the good peach parts I could. I used Fruit Fresh to keep the peaches from turning brown while I peeled (forever! a whole large bowl for ONE quart!).
I made a sugar syrup of 1 cup sugar to one quart of water and put the peeled peach pieces in the jars, added the syrup, made sure to remove the air bubbles but running a knife through it, cleaned the rims and then water bath canned for 20 minutes.
Yup, a whole 8 quarts for 5 hours (5 HOURS!) worth of work. Tomorrow I will have to do some more (I am thinking about peach jam ) because there are still 2 1/2 bags of small peaches left.
You have to think of canning peaches as a pastime to keep you amused - not as food-preparation! The instructions you used were evidently intended for perfectly-shaped, fully ripe peaches.
ReplyDeleteI guess my point is that if you grow your own peaches, they aren't going to all be big, sweet and nice. A LOT of them are going to be small and if you pick them when the big ones are ripe, the small ones won't be. NOT that you can't use them, of course you can, but they aren't all going to be perfect like in the store. As far as amusement goes, after a while canning isn't real amusing, it's work and though you may enjoy it later, it won't be enjoyable while you are doing it.
DeleteOh so sory about the tree, Becky! I hope it will produce well next year! Yes, canning is a lot of work, but at least you know whats in that jar of peaches! I hope the jam making turns out better for you! Thanks for sharing! Blessings from Bama!
ReplyDeleteI did not get to the jam today but there will be another post :)
DeleteI'm hoping the weather didn't destroy your peach tree? Yes, they all lie about the peels coming off easy. I've never once had peels come off easy when making peach jam. Your jarred peaches look delicious!!
ReplyDeleteI think peaches are kind of like tomatoes to me. Not nearly worth the work to peel them all, just to jar them. But I do have all these peaches....sigh...
DeleteLooks really good, bet they will be delicious come winter! Summer in a jar!
ReplyDeleteYeah and I don't really buy peaches (fresh or canned) in the stores though we do love them.
DeleteWhen you eat them, they will be so delicious, you will be happy you slaved over them.
ReplyDeleteHi, off topic, but how did your lemon balm wine turn out? I wasn't sure if you would see a message in that thread, so I am posting here. I live in an area loaded with lemon balm. :-)
ReplyDelete