FUN, FOOD, AND FAMILY SERIES/GIVEAWAY - JULIE VALERIE - SPICED PEACHES

I love to preserve food and while I know you might roll your eyes when I say this: It's really not all that complicated once you get the hang of it. In a perfect world, you'd grow your own food, pull it from the earth, toss it into a mason jar with a few simple ingredients, process the jars, then store the food for years and years to come. If you don't have the space, time or interest to grow your own food, buy organic at the peak of the season and then grab your favorite canning recipe and a glass of wine and have at it. It's actually a lot of fun.

In addition to the benefit of storing high quality food for practically forever (always a good thing should the world come to an abrupt halt), canned food makes nice gifts, especially when you attach pretty tags and labels. And while it may take a while to complete a canning recipe, you tend to preserve food in large batches so your output is often quite large making the investment of time worth it.

All that said, I think I can and preserve food because I am romanced by the thought of recreating the recipes my Irish grandmother made on her Iowa farm. She married a German farmer and made her own cheese, bread, and jams - and believe me, they were delicious, vibrant and fresh. Who needs a grocery store when there's corn growing in the backyard and blackberry jam that practically cans itself straight from the bush.

I once stood in my friend's garden just outside of Zurich, Switzerland and watched in awe as she unwrapped cheesecloth from the plums hanging on her plum tree. She took the yeast collected on the cheesecloth from the "plum sweat" and baked a loaf of bread with it. Now tell me. How cool is that?!

Here's a simple canning recipe with easy ingredients to get you started: 

Spiced Peaches - makes 5 quarts

5 1/4 cups water
2 1/4 cups organic sugar
12 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (about 4-inches long)
8-10 pounds ripe peaches
ascorbic-acid color keeper (follow the directions on the package)

Step 1 - Make the syrup: Start by making a syrup in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot. Combine all of the ingredients - except the peaches and the ascorbic-acid - bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool for 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove and discard cinnamon sticks. Remove the cloves or leave them in. Set the syrup aside.

Step 2 - Skin the peaches: Bring a large saucepan of water to boiling. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Carefully lower two or three peaches into the boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the peaches from the boiling water into the ice water. When the peaches are cool enough to hold them in your hands, remove and discard the skins. Repeat this step until all the peaches are skinned.

 

Step 3 - Prevent discoloration: Cut the peaches in half then slice into pretty slices, removing and discarding the pits. To prevent discoloration, place the peaches into the ascorbic-acid following the directions on the ascorbic-acid package. Pack the peach slices into hot, sterilized quart canning jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace.

 

Step 4 - Pour the syrup over the peaches: Return the syrup to a boil. Ladle hot syrup into the jars on top of the peaches but maintaining that 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims, adjust the lids to prepare for processing.

 

Step 5 - Process the jars: Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 25 minutes (start the timing when the water returns to a full boil). Remove jars from the canner. Cool on wire racks for 24 hours, confirming that the lids have "popped" and a proper seal has been made.

Enjoy!

JULIE VALERIE, book blogger and writer, blogs about books and writing on "Julie Valerie's Book Blog" sub-titled Chick Lit Chit Chat where she specializes in contemporary women's fiction with a strong emphasis on modern chick lit and it's many sub-genres. Julie especially enjoys reading and writing in the humorous mommy lit genre.

Through her blog and social media marketing, Julie supports fellow writers by posting cover reveals, excerpts and interviews and she dedicates an entire page on her blog to new book releases and another to a listing of modern chick lit authors.

Find Julie Valerie Online:

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