Peach Preserves

Peaches were delicious this year and Wayfield Grocery Store had them on sale for .69 per pound.  A great buy because the local farmer's market didn't have them priced that low.  I bought several pounds and made Peach Preserves.  I don't know how many pounds I ended up with but here is how I made my preserves.  I had read an article some years ago on how to can peach preserves and I don't remember the name or author of the website but here is what I remembered and the way I made my Peach Preserves.

Ingredients:  Peaches and Sugar

I placed my peaches in a large vat of water and let them sit in the water for a while before peeling them.  Some people use the boiling water method to peel peaches but my preferred method is using the tool that I use to peel my potatoes.

After peeling the peaches, I cut them into slices. I then take a small paring knife and cut out the dark area where the peach pit was because this is a bitter area and sometimes contain bits of the peach pits. I use a large plastic bucket and layer peaches and sugar into it and let the peaches and sugar sit, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted.  Can be left overnight, if desired.

I've got a large pressure cooker and I place the peaches with the juice into the pressure cooker but I do not pressure cook the peaches.  Bring them to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Let cool.  Repeat this process four times or until the juice has thickened into syrup.

Skim off any foam that has accumulated on the peaches and spoon into sterilized jars.  Clean the rims of the jar with a clean towel, place the lids on the jars, screw the rims on but do not tighten them.  Place jars into canner that has hot water in it.  If water in canner does not cover tops of jars, add more water to cover jars by at least two inches.

Cover canner and bring to a boil and let boil for 25 minutes.  Remove jars from canner and set on towel on counter top.  Lids should pop/seal after removal from canner.  Next day, check jars to make sure all lids have sealed.  If rims are loose, screw to secure but do not screw tight.