Posted June 24, 2011
A medium-sized, fresh peach is full of nutrients and contains 38 calories. They also deliver Vitamin A and Calcium, which is not common in most fruit.
When selecting: Look for peaches with creamy to gold undercolor. The amount of red blush on fruit depends on the variety and is not always a sign of ripeness. Two other indicators of ripeness are a well defined crease and a good fragrance. For immediate use, select fruit that has begun to soften. Firm, ripe fruit can be held a few days at room temperature. Never pick peaches with a green undercolor; they will shrivel, become flabby and never achieve a good flavor.
When storing: Peaches should be held at 32-35 degrees and high humidity. Fully ripened peaches should be refrigerated immediately and kept there until ready for consumption. sound and mature, but not overripe, peaches can be expected to hold one to two weeks at the suggested temperature.
Canning Peaches
Select mature, ripe, ready-to-eat fruit.
Preparation: Wash fruit. Peel or loosen skins by dipping fruit in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then plunging into cold water. Slice or cut in halves and remove pits. To prevent darkening, hold fruit in anti-darkening mixture (two tablespoons salt and vinegar to a gallon of water). Drain.
Hot pack: Heat fruit in saucepan with light or medium syrup. Pack boiling hot fruit into clean jars to within a half-inch of the top. Add syrup, leaving a half-inch of head space.
Raw pack: pack fruit into clean jars, leaving a half-inch head space. Add hot syrup (light or medium), leaving a half-inch of head space.
Remove air bubbles. Adjust lids and process.
Process in boiling water: Hot pack — pint jars: 20 minutes; quart jars: 25 minutes. Raw pack — pint jars: 25 minutes; quart jars: 30 minutes.
Process at five pounds pressure: Hot pack — pint jars: 10 minutes; quart jars: 10 minutes. Raw pack — pint jars: 10 minutes; quart jars: 10 minutes.
Freezing Peaches
Halves and slices: Select firm, ripe peaches with no green color in the skins. Sort, wash, pit and peel. For a better product, peel peaches without a boiling water dip. Slice if desired.
Syrup pack: Use light or medium syrup. For a better quality product, add one half teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid for each quart off syrup. Put peaches directly into cold syrup in container. Press fruit down and add syrup to cover, leaving head space. Seal and freeze.
Sugar pack: Add sugar to taste and mix well. To retard darkening sprinkle ascorbic acid and dissolve in water over the peaches before adding sugar. Use one-fourth teaspoon ascorbic acid in one-fourth cup cold water to each quart of fruit. pack into containers, leaving head space. Seal and freeze.
Water pack: pack peaches into containers and cover with cold water containing one teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid to each quart of water. leave head space. Seal and freeze.
Peach Pickles
Ingredients: 2 pounds sugar, 1 quart vinegar, 6 drops of oil of cloves, 6 drops oil of cinnamon, 7 pounds of peaches.
Bring all ingredients to a boil except peaches. Drop in a few peaches at a time until fork will prick peach easily. pack and fill jars. Process 20 minutes in boiling water bath.
Peach Butter
Ingredients: 2 quarts peach pulp (approximately 12 — 18medium, fully ripe peaches) and 4 cups of sugar.
To prepare pulp: wash, scald, pit, peel and chop peaches; cook until soft, adding only enough water to prevent sticking. Press through a sieve or food mill. Measure pulp. Add sugar; cook until thick, about 30 minutes. As mixtures thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Pour hot, into hot jars, leaving one-fourth inch head space. Adjust caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in boiling water bath at simmering temperatures (180 — 185 degrees) Yield four pints.
Deep Dish Fresh Peach Pie
refrigerated dough; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently mix peaches, flour, sugar and cinnamon. Put into 8x8x12-inch deep baking pan or dish. Cut butter into small pieces over top of peaches. Arrange one-fourth inch slices of cookie dough in five rows over tops of peaches. Overlap circles of dough slightly and use entire package of dough. Bake one hour. Cool about two hours before serving. Top with ice cream or whipped cream.
Peach Preserves
Peel peaches, cut slices or cubes of desired size. Use one pound of fruit to three-fourths pound of sugar. Put enough water with sugar to make a thick syrup. Add fruit and boil rapidly, making sure fruit does not stick.
When fruit is clear and translucent, remove and place in shallow dish while syrup boils thicker (if necessary). Pour this syrup over fruit and let stand until cool.
Return fruit and syrup to pan and allow it to reach boiling point. do not re-cook. pack hot fruit immediately in hot sterilized jars: skim foam and pour syrup in little by little as packing progresses until the jar is filled. Remove air bubbles. Process at simmering point (about 200 degrees) for 10 minutes.
Peach Ice Cream
Ingredients: 10 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced; one small package vanilla instant pudding; one can sweetened condensed milk; three-fourths cup sugar; one teaspoon vanilla flavoring; a half-gallon of milk.
In a large bowl, chop peaches into small bits. Add vanilla pudding, sweetened condensed milk, sugar and vanilla flavoring. Stir well. Pour into ice cream freezer. Add milk to fill line.
Peach Dumplings — A favorite at Johnson’s Peaches
Ingredients: Two large peaches, eight crescent rolls (store bought), one cup water, one cup sugar, one cup butter.
Toppings: One teaspoon sugar, a half teaspoon cinnamon.
Peel peaches and cut into quarters. Roll peaches up into crescent rolls and put into baking dish. Bring sugar, water and butter to a boil. Pour mixture over peach rolls. Sprinkle rolls with topping and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Staff Writer Dawn Kurry can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ex. 43, or by e-mail at dkurry@heartlandpublications.com.
To see more of the Richmond County Daily Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.yourdailyjournal.com.
Copyright © 2011, Richmond County Daily Journal, Rockingham, N.C.
