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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Peach Syrup - Homemade & Homecanned




Peach Syrup - Homemade & Homecanned

What is it about French Vanilla Ice Cream and Peaches - another golden flavor combination!  The best of course is fresh peaches cut up on top of some delicious ice cream but in the winter, my Peach Syrup tastes like fresh peaches picked off the tree.

Similar to my Blueberry Syrup and Strawberry Syrup recipes - This Peach Syrup can be used in many other ways: ice cream, pancakes, waffles, flavor iced tea, in batter (eg peach muffins), in frosting, in homemade Popsicles, in yogurt or kefir.......etc

NOTE: This syrup is on the thin or runny side but for certain uses - such as an ice cream topper, it is easy to thicken with a little corn starch (see "thickening recipe" at the end of this post).




Juice
14 cups peaches (washed, pitted and quartered)
2 cups water (filtered)
juice from 1 lemon

Prepare the peaches as described above. Place the peaches, lemon juice and water in a large stock pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 1 hour (in the 2 pictures above you can see the difference in the color - before and after boiling - and that the peach skins have been cooked into the syrup). Now you will need to strain the juice to separate the peach pulp from the liquid. Allow the juice to drain out of the colander for an hour - you might want to press down on the pulp with a wooden spoon to make sure that all of the liquid has been drained.  Unlike my Strawberry & Blueberry Syrups - the peach pulp still has good flavor after boiling, so what I did is puree the pulp and then freeze to use in the winter in smoothies or yogurt.


Syrup
7 cups peach juice
2 1/2 cups sugar
juice from 1 lemon


Pour the Peach juice into a large stock pot. Add in 2 1/2 cups of sugar and the juice from the second lemon - stir until dissolved.
Gather your canning jars, lids and rings (you will need 6 or 7 half pints):
Canning Basics - Jar Sizes. Also, gather all other canning supplies:
Other Canning Supplies. Start the water boiling for Jar sterilization: Sterilizing Jars & Lids.
Now bring the peach juice mixture to boil (stirring most of the time) and then turn down the heat and simmer for 1/2 hour (While boiling - if any frothy substance appears on the top then remove it and discard the froth).
By now your jars should be sterilized and ready to be filled. Take the jars out of the boiling water (I use my jar remover and make sure that the water is drained out of each jar). Pour the hot Peach Syrup into each sterilized jar and fill each jar up to the jar "threads" (about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of head space).
Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp cloth making sure that any syrup residue is gone (any residue left on the rim can stop the jar from sealing). Place a sterilized lid on each jar and then tighten a ring on each jar.
Place all jars in a "Water Bath Canner" and process (boil) the jars for 10 minutes (make sure that the water level in the Canner is 1 inch above the tallest jar)
Remove the jars and place them on the counter or table to cool (I always place them on a cloth because there have been a few times when a jar cracked and then the jam oozed out making a mess - the cloth will help if that happens). You will hear the wonderful popping sound of your jars sealing.
Allow the jars to cool for 24 hours and then store in your pantry or in your fruit cellar until the winter and then ENJOY a little bit of summer.


Thickening Recipe:
1 cup Peach syrup (cold or room temperature)
1 tablespoon corn starch
With a whisk - stir the corn starch & Peach syrup until combined (with no clumps). Pour into a medium size saucepan and bring to a boil - stirring all the time. You will know when it is thick enough by the color - The key to thickening with corn starch: the syrup mixture will be cloudy when you start , then after it has boiled - it will be transparent (orange but still transparent).



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14 comments:

  1. That looks so good and I have to tell you... I smiled when I saw that all your canning jars didn't match! Hooray for a recycler!

    I am completely out of homemade jams. Next time, I will have to make more. Sold a lot of jars but also gave some away. Need to keep enough int he pantry for a full year

    have a great Saturday!

    <><

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  2. Liked the description of eating summer during winter - that was how Peter and I always felt when eating canned cherries I'd put up in the Fall, when the temperature was -56 degrees when we lived in Alberta during the 1970's! Now don't have a pantry, but do still preserve summer fruits for later consumption. Will bear your ideas in mind!

    Hope to be back in the groove soon - daughter broke her leg just after I'd returned from Peter's Requiem, so have been being Mum for three weeks. When the Morrells do something, they don't do things by halves!

    Isobel

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  3. I'm curious, can you thicken the syrup before canning it?

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    Replies
    1. I never have because I use it for other purposes like making Peach iced Tea (taking regular tea & adding this syrup in runny form to the tea - Yummy!). - so I don't really know how it would can already thickened - I would worry that it might become too gelatinous. If you do thicken before canning - please let me know how it turned out.
      Thanks so much!

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  4. I know this is an older post, and don't know if you still respond. can you tell me if these are peeled? I don't see this written in the recipe.

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    1. Hi Jessica,
      I actually kept the skins on because I love the flavor that they give - however if you don't like that you may remove them first. (the skins will cook down somewhat & then be removed anyway through straining). Thanks so much & I hope you like it as much as we do!

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  5. in one of your comments you say you use it for tea?! what are your ratios? is the syrup concentrated enough to even taste it once mixed with tea? ( sorry if this posts twice....for some reason the page just kind of disappeared when i hit post!)

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    Replies
    1. Yes - I used 1 pint of peach syrup to one pitcher of iced tea (just a regular sized pitcher) - I thought it was delicious & really tasted "peachy". Thanks so much & I'll answer your next question below

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  6. Did you thicken yours in the first picture where you are pouring it over ice cream? I boiled mine for HOURS and its the concestancy of thick simple syrup (like for drink making)

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    Replies
    1. Yes - I preserve/can the peach syrup while it is thin - that way I am able to use it for other recipes/items. Then, if I want to use it on ice cream or pancakes/waffles~ I thicken it with corn starch (see ratio above for thickening) (while it is still thin it is also great mixed into a smoothie or milk shake. I also like to bake with it - mixed into muffins {if you are mixing it in a baked good recipe make sure you add less sugar into the batter} )
      Thanks again!

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  7. The ice cream and peaches look absolutely delicious. I thank you for the great information on this mice treat.

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  8. made a batch and a half today. I love that you don't have to triple the sugar to get to that sweet sweet peach taste. Can't wait to serve this on our New Years Day brunch!!!

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  9. Can I add the cornstarch before canning....rather than thicken it later?

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    Replies
    1. I would not recommend adding cornstarch before due to the jar processing. - strange things happen to cornstarch because you are sealing the jars in the boiling bath therefore It's almost like you would be cooking it twice.

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Thank You.