This is my first time attempting to can anything! And honestly, it wasn’t as difficult as I anticipated. Canning is a fantastic way to preserve the flavours of summer well beyond the end of the season, and can also be very handy if you fall into an abundance of fruit that you will not be able to eat before it spoils. The only special equipment needed is a large pot (I used a stock pot), mason jars with screw top lids (the lids need to be new in order to get a safe seal) and a canning rack that will fit within your pot to ensure that the jars are not touching the bottom of the pot when boiling. A jar lifter is also a handy tool, but you can use anything that will allow for handling hot jars/ pulling them out of hot water.

Notes:

The pot you use needs to be large enough to hold multiple mason jars and deep enough to have ~2-3 inches of water covering the tops of the jars as they boil
If you don’t know where to find one, just Google “canning rack” and you will find a bunch of options for around $10-$20
The mason jars can be whatever size you find that fits within your pot. For this recipe I used six 500ml mason jars, but you could also use four 950ml ones instead.
Ensure you are using freestone peaches for canning (these are the most common type at the grocery store), as the pit will easily fall off the flesh
When you go to pick your peaches for canning, you want them ripe enough to give to gentle pressure, but nothing overly ripe and mealy. Aka “just” ripe peaches.

Canned Peaches with Rosemary and Vanilla Bean

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: Six 500ml jars of peaches

INGREDIENTS

~8 lbs. or 20-25 medium/large peaches (just ripe, freestone variety)
¼ cup of lemon juice
6 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise

DIRECTIONS

The first step before you even get started is the ensure your mason jars and sterilized! To do so, you can either boil the jars and rings (but not lids) in a large pot for 10 minutes, or place them through the dishwasher on the sanitize cycle (again, not the lids). To sterilize the lids, place them in a small saucepan and bring the water to a very light simmer, but not a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

The second step in canning peaches is to remove their fuzzy skin. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and either fill a very large vessel or your (clean) kitchen sink with ice water. Carve a shallow “x” in the bottom of each peach, to help with peeling the skin. Once the water is boiling, drop a few peaches in at a time and leave them in for 1-2 minutes, before removing them with a slotted spoon and placing them directly in the ice bath to prevent further cooking. The riper your peaches are, the less time they will need to boil in order to remove the skins. I suggest starting with 1 minute, and if the skin doesn’t come off easily, drop them back in and try again. If you are still having issues, your peaches are likely not ripe enough.

Once the skin has been removed, slice the peaches in half, remove the pits and either leave as is or slice into smaller chunks. Remove any bruised or mushy bits. I cut my peaches into quarters so that they fit into the jars more easily. As you continue to peel, de-pit and slice your peaches, place the prepped peaches in a large bowl, and toss with the lemon juice. This will help to prevent oxidization which causes brown looking peaches.

Bring the water and the sugar to a boil in a medium pot. Stir until sugar has dissolved and remove from heat.

At the same time, place the canning rack into your large pot, and fill the pot up halfway, covering with a lid. Bring the water to a simmer.

Place 1 rosemary sprig, half a vanilla bean into each sterilized mason jar (I used six 500ml jars) and pile as many sliced peaches in each jar that will fit. Pour the hot sugar/water mixture over top, leaving half an inch of headspace from the top of the jar. Stir to remove any trapped air bubbles and then wipe the rim with a clean wash cloth. Place the lid over top of each jar and gently screw on the rings – be careful to not tighten too much at this stage as we want some air to escape during the canning process.

Once the jars are filled and fitted with the lids, carefully lower them into the simmering water (resting on top of the canning rack). Once all of the jars are in place, fill the pot with more water until the mason jars are covered by at least 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil and process for 20 minutes if using 500ml jars, or 25 minutes if using 950ml jars. If you are living above 1,000 ft altitude like I am, you will need to adjust the processing time. In Calgary, I am living at around 3,500 ft elevation so I added 10 minutes to my processing time. Find more information on canning safety at different altitude levels here.

Once done, carefully transfer the hot jars to the counter to cool. Once cooled (around 30 minutes or so), you should hear the lids “pop” into place. You will know if they are properly sealed or not if after they have cooled, you can no longer press down in the middle of the can and hear a popping noise.

Canned peaches will last for up to 2 years!