Mrs. Arable’s Canned Peaches: Learn to Can with Me

Posted February 3, 2022 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

One of my favorite things about food blogging is it pushes me out of my comfort zone on the regular. For example, even though I found eclairs super intimidating when I first learned to cook, I made lavender lemon eclairs after only a year of blogging because they were perfect for my Secret Garden menu. I used to be terrified of cooking big birds, but now my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK, has recipes for turkey AND goose. Over time, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable pushing my culinary boundaries, and just this past month, I tried something I’ve had my eye on for years: canning.

In CHARLOTTE’S WEB, Mrs. Arable serves canned peaches to the farmers. Peaches are a great intro to canning because they are high in acid (making them a pretty safe option) and easy to process. Here was my perfect opportunity to take canning for a test drive to see if I like it! I don’t have any special tools (canner, jar rack, jar lifter, etc.), so I used tips from a few different sources to help me learn to can with the tools I already have. Here are the sources I consulted:

“Canning Peaches Safely at Home” from Practical Self Reliance
“How to Process Foods in a Water Bath Canner” from The Spruce Eats
“20 Canning Mistakes to Avoid” from Because We Can (this one is a Youtube video)

Canning is an exact science, so I highly recommend researching before you begin. This will help the whole process go smoothly and safely. Plus, I’m a novice myself, so the recipe below isn’t the be-all and end-all of canning advice. It’s a description of my experience, which worked well for me, but I’ll probably change my methods a bit as I learn more.

Overall, I had a good experience. I think it’s a bit too much work for small batches, but it’s a great option if you have a lot of fruit, jam, sauce, etc. and don’t want to waste any. I don’t think I’ll buy any canning tools quite yet, but I have lots of young berry bushes started in the backyard. Once those are fully established, I could definitely see myself having enough berry jam for big-batch canning. I’m glad I gave it a whirl!

NOTE: Just to reiterate, I am not an expert. Fully research canning before you begin and use recipes that have been approved for canning. This post is not a comprehensive guide and does not address every variable that can affect the canning process (such as elevation or lower acid foods). Consuming improperly processed canned goods can result in botulism. Be safe out there!

A

Mrs. Arable’s Canned Peaches

“Miles away, at the Arables’ house, the men sat around the kitchen table eating a dish of canned peaches and talking over the events of the day.”

— Charlotte’s Web

INGREDIENTS:

8 fully ripe yellow-flesh peaches or nectarines
- I used nectarines since peaches aren’t in season right now, but the process is the same
3/4 cup honey
lots of water!

Makes 6 8-oz cans of peaches

INSTRUCTIONS:

TO PREP. First, clean the jars, lids, and rings in hot soapy water (or in a dish washer). Dry with a clean cloth, inspecting for any chipped jars or dented metal (don’t use any that are damaged). Place the clean jars and rings on a wire rack. This will keep them clean and provide a safe place for them to rest after being sealed.
If you have a canner, fill it with water and place it on the stove over high heat. If you do not have a canner, get a large pot and place a clean kitchen towel in the bottom to keep jars from touching the bottom of the pot. Keep in mind that most canning jars are too tall for a regular pot (you want room for at least 1 inch of water over the top of the lidded jar). So if you’re using a regular pot instead of a canner, you’ll want small jars. I used Kerr 1/2-pint wide mouth jars, which are only a few inches tall.
Bring a separate large pot of water to a boil. While you wait, score a large, shallow “X” on the bottom of each of your peaches. This will make the skin easy to remove later. Create an ice water bath (I did this in my clean sink, but you could also do it in another large pot).
TO COOK. When the pot is boiling, add the peaches and allow to boil for 30-90 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to remove the peaches to the ice bath. Dump the water from the pot you used to boil the peaches. Fill it with 10½ cups fresh water and ¾ cup honey. Set on high heat and stir until honey is dissolved. Allow to come to a boil.
While you wait, remove the skins from the peaches once they are cool to touch. The skin should peel off easily as long as the peaches are ripe enough (If not, that’s ok. You can use a peeler. It just takes more time). Cut peaches into slices. Discard pits and skins.
When the honey water is boiling, add the peach slices and boil for 1-2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer peaches to jars, packing tightly until a little over half filled. Top with remaining honey water so that there is 1/2 inch of space between the top of the syrup and the top of the jar. Use a clean, non-metal spoon or spatula to press down on the top of the peaches a bit to remove air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a paper towel dampened (but not dripping) with distilled white vinegar. Screw on lids until finger tight.
TO CAN. Using tongs or a jar lifter, lower your jars into the canner or large pot filled with now-boiling water. Leave at least 1/2 inch of space between jars. Make sure the water level is at least 1 inch above the top of the jars, adding water if necessary. Bring the water back up to a full boil. Put the lid on the canner/pot and boil for 10 minutes if using 8 oz jars (longer for bigger jars, the sources listed in my intro have more exact info on that). Turn off heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes with the lid on.
Using tongs or a jar lifter, transfer jars back to the wire rack you filled them on. Lift them straight out, so the material inside doesn’t tilt and interfere with the sealing of the lid. You should begin hearing the “ping” of the lids as they seal shut. Once every lid has pinged, use a clean cloth to dab away any excess water pooling on top the lid. If any do not seal (as in, you can click the circle in the middle of the lid up and down or wiggle the lid beneath the ring), place those jars in the fridge and consume promptly. Allow jars to rest undisturbed for at least 12 hours. Check to make sure they are still sealed (refrigerate and consume promptly any that have come unsealed). Store in a cool place on a level surface out of direct sunlight. Many sources recommend removing the rings before storing, since the rings can prevent gases from escaping and breaking the seal even if the food goes bad. The seal should be strong enough that you can lift the jar by the lip of the lid without it coming off, even without the ring.
Serve to hungry visitors at the Arable’s farm!