It’s day two of our canning week and today it’s all about homemade canned peach syrup! Have I ever told you how much I love homemade fruit syrup? It started when I was a little girl. My mom would cook pancakes for breakfast and she’d make the most delicious pear syrup from her canned pears to go with them. I can remember getting so excited. It was an absolute treat and such a perfect addition to pancakes.
Ever since then, I’ve been hooked and I often make my own version from the various fruits I’ve either canned or froze. This year, when our neighbors peach tree ripened, they offered for us to pick as many peaches as we wanted. I took my 5 gallon bucket and filled it up in a matter of a few minutes. I knew one of the things I’d be canning was peach syrup.
Again, this is another recipe that is as versatile as the day is long. You can use it as a syrup for ice cream (divine), pancakes, toast, or even as a marinade for meats, in a BBQ sauce, or as an addition to any baking. Truly, the uses are endless.
Let’s get started!
First, I started peeling the peaches. You can do this one of two ways. You can dip the peaches in a pot of boiling water and quickly remove the skin, or you can hand remove the skin with a knife. Because the skin on the peaches came off quickly and easily, I went with the second option.
I also lucked out in the fact that these peaches were non-clings, or a freestone, meaning the pit of the peach came out easily and without harming the peach. If it’s not a non-cling, it can be very difficult to remove the pit, and have a nice looking peach leftover to can as a whole, or half peach. In the case of making jam or syrup, it doesn’t really matter. It does, however, make the job easier and quicker.
I used a paring knife to pinch the skin at the top of the peach, then pulled down on the skin for a clean removal. Normally the skin will come off in large sections.
Once I had my peaches peeled, I added them into my food processor. You could easily do this step by hand, but if you plan on doing a lot of canning, it’s worth investing in a good food processor.
I pureed the peaches until I had a nice mix of small and large pieces. I personally like it when there is a variance in fruit sizes, but feel free to customize this to your liking…
Next, I mixed the peaches, lemon juice and pectin in a large stockpot. Once it came to a boil, I added in the sugar…
If you’ve ever made jam before, you know this is pretty standard procedure, but because I purposely didn’t want the fruit to set like jam, I slightly altered the combination of items, throwing off the thickness the pectin would create once the jam was pressured and cooled. Basically, we want a set failure.
With the syrup at a full rolling boil, I started pouring it into clean jars. I wiped off the rim of the jars with a clean cloth, and them topped with with a warm lid and a tight band. Then, just like with jam, I processed the jars for 10 minutes.
Once they were done, I set them on a towel to cool. The result is a perfect syrup consistency that tastes amazing!
We like to keep a jar of this in the fridge ready to go, just in case, but it’s so nice having it on the shelf in the winter too!
If you want to use it on pancakes, or any situation where it needs to be hot, just pour a jar into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Delicious!
Here’s the recipe for you to try, with a link to any supplies needed:
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Canned Peach Syrup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 cups Crushed Peaches
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 pkg Fruit Pectin
- 8 cups Sugar
Instructions
- Wash, dry and set aside 6 pint jars. In a small saucepan, add 6 lids. Fill with water, covering the lids. Turn heat to low and let the water lightly simmer.
- Fill water bath with water and heat on high until boiling.
- Peel peaches, cut in half and remove pit.
- In a large pot, combine peaches, lemon juice and fruit pectin. Bring mixture to a full boil.
- Add sugar to peach mixture and return to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Turn off heat and funnel syrup into jars. Leave 1/2 inch head space at the top of the jar. Continue filling all jars.
- Use a clean cloth to wipe jars and jar rim. Remove jar lids from heat and add to jars. Tighten well with band.
- Add jars to water bath, adding any extra water needed until at least an inch of water is over the top of the jars. Bring water to a full boil and set a timer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and lift the jars out of the water bath. Gently place them on a towel and let them sit for several hours, until cool and the jar lids have sealed. You should hear little "popping" noises as the jars seal. If any jars haven't sealed once they've cooled off, place in the refrigerator and use those first. You can also reheat the syrup and try canning them again.
- Store in a cool, dry space. Jars can last up to 18 months.
Please note: you can also adjust the processing time if necessary based on your altitude.
Hope you enjoy this one!
Oh my, sounds delish. I would like to omit the sugar. Is that possible?
You could certainly lower the sugar content, but I wouldn’t completely omit it. 🙂
Sounds Delish! I canned blackberries from my yard once, long ago. Thanks for the instructions, you’ve inspired me to make your peach syrup!
So nice to see I”m not the only one who “cans.” I canned fresh peach jam just a few weeks ago and I too like it when its still a little bit runny!!! I make jalapeno pepper jelly too. YUM!!! I also can green beans!! Love this!!!
Love canning! I’ve been doin it for a long time. Makes excellent gifts for holidays. My favorites are the peaches. so many ways to fix them. I mix it up with strawberries, raspberries, sweet peppers, pineapples. Ive done everything possible for apples and grapes. When jJersey silver queen corn comes in, its a supertime for corn red,orange; n greenpepper hash. its so tasty n co;orful. thank you for allowing me to try this recipe.