Preserving Peaches

If you read my previous post, you know that I intended on canning peaches.  And I did.  Sort of.  In a small, pathetic way.

I made it to the grocery store and bought canning supplies, came home and realized that perhaps canning with small children around would not be the best idea.  So I waited until the next day when they were napping.

I used the simplest recipe I could find.  I'm all about quick and easy.  This was my first foray into canning and it was much as I expected.  Not completely complicated, but a little heavy on the processing end.

• Sterilizing jars and lids and keeping them warm
• Peeling peaches- even the "easy" blanch-cool water bath-peel method takes some time and is quite messy
• Slicing
• Boiling the syrup and keeping it warm
• Packing the jars, adding syrup
• Wiping the lids, rim and threads
• Putting the lids & collars on
• "Processing" them all for 25 minutes in boiling water

Being a newbie at this whole thing, my process was definitely not as streamlined as it could have been.  And I was (and still am) a bit paranoid about inadvertently poisoning our family.  Each thing I did, I would question.  Should I still use that towel, is it clean?  Can I use my fingers to pack the peaches?  Did any flies get in my jars while they were sitting out?  We're having a bit of a late season fly population.  Also, not really knowing which size jars to use, I unknowingly bought two different shaped jars, so could only can 5 jars at a time, instead of 7.

So that's about where I stopped, 5 jars.  They turned out beautiful, if not a bit underfilled, but better that  than overfilled, as I understand it.  But my goodness, for 5 jars, I spent hours (with some interruptions when the kids woke) canning.  5 jars of peaches.  FIVE JARS.

And I still had quite a lot of peaches left.  So I decided to make some peach freezer jam.  And that took me about 1 hour, including "processing time" where it sits on the counter for 30 minutes.  Much easier.  And yummy, too!  And we still have some peaches to enjoy fresh.

Bottom line?  If they turn out yummy, I'll probably do it again next year.  The kids will be older and I'll know to dedicate more time.  And I'll have one canning experience under my belt.  Only, I won't know how they turned out for many months.  Since I only have 5 jars, I feel like I need to horde them away for a really special occasion or for the deep, dark days of winter.  So, sometime in, say, February (if I can really wait that long), expect to see a follow-up on how the peaches turned out.  That, or my trip to the ER from botulism.