Blanching fresh peaches is a great way to preserve their fresh flavor long after the harvest. You will need to blanch them, peel them and slice them in order to preserve them for freezing or canning.
Steps
Preparing the Kitchen
- Fill a stockpot with water. Set it to boil.
- The stockpot doesn’t have to be very large. You can only fit in as many peaches as will comfortably float at the top—about 4 for most pots.
- 3-piece stockpot sets with removable colanders work perfectly for blanching. You can remove the fruit without removing the boiling water.
- Create an ice bath. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Drop ice cubes into the water.
- Set the ice bath near the stove.
- Find a large space for peeling and preparing peaches.
Preparing the Peaches
- Choose your peaches. Freestone peaches may be slightly less sweet than clingstone peaches, but they are easier to pull away from the pit.
- Clingstone peaches are usually available starting mid-June. Freestone peaches are usually available starting in July.
- Store bought peaches are likely to have ripened off the tree, while those at the local farmer’s market were probably tree-ripened. [1]
- Buy or pick a lot of peaches. Blanching is best done with a large batch, since you can blanch many batches of peaches in your pot of boiling water.
- Rinse your peaches. You don’t need to scrub them because you will peel them; however, removing dirt and chemicals will make the boiling water useful for many batches.
- Slit an “x” in the bottom of each peach with a sharp knife. 2 intersecting lines that extend deep in the peach will allow for expansion during the blanching process. They will also make the peaches easier to peel. [2]
Blanching the Peaches
- Place 4 whole peaches in your boiling water. Stand close by with a slotted spoon.
- Time your peaches according to how ripe they are. The following are good guidelines:
- For over-ripe peaches, blanch for 45 seconds.
- For ripe peaches, blanch for 1 to 1.5 minutes.
- For fairly ripe peaches, blanch for 2 minutes.
- For harder peaches, blanch for 3 minutes. [3]
- Remove the peaches with the spoon. Place them in the ice bath right away.
- Let them sit in the ice bath for 2 minutes. They should be slightly warm still, so that they are easier to peel.
- Remove them from the ice bath and peel them. Place a knife just under the peel near your “x” and pull it off. Repeat with each corner of the “x.”
- Cut the peaches in half. Remove the pit. Slice them thinly.
- Repeat the process to blanch all of your peaches.
Tips
- Once you have cut all your peaches into slices, toss them with lemon juice. The acid will keep them from browning. Toss them with sugar and let them sit for half an hour, if you are preserving them for pies or other deserts. [4]
- Freeze them in plastic bags or can them immediately after you have completed all your batches.
- Get another person to help you in the kitchen. With 2 people, you can get into a rhythm where you boil, bathe and peel in turn.
Things You'll Need
- Fresh whole peaches
- Knife
- Stock pot
- Water
- Bowls
- Ice
- Timer
- Slotted spoon/colander
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
- Plastic bags
- Canning jars
Related wikiHows
Sources and Citations
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