Things You'll Need
2 cups granulated sugar
2 qt. saucepan
Large spoon
Fresh peaches (5 fresh peaches make 1 quart)
Colander
Stockpot
Large bowl
Cutting board
Utility knife
¼ cup lemon juice
Zip-top freezer bags (quart size)
Permanent marker
Whether you pick your fresh peaches directly from trees in your landscape or you pick them from the produce section, prepare some peaches for off-season eating by freezing them. Freeze fresh peaches in bags for a delicious treat when the weather turns cold. The process for freezing peaches is basic and you can decide whether you wish to freeze your peaches in a sugar solution or plain fruit juice.
Step 1
Make the sugar solution first, if you wish to preserve peaches this way. Fill the saucepan with 6 cups of cool water and place it on the stove top. Set the burner to medium high and slowly add the granulated sugar to the water as you heat the water. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar as the sugar water heats. Remove the sugar water from the heat when it is bubbly and the sugar dissolves completely. Cool the sugar water to room temperature before adding it to the peaches. Alternatively, you can simply use plain fruit juice to pack around the fresh peaches if you do not want to use sugar.
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Step 2
Place the fresh peaches into the colander and run cool water over them to wash them.
Step 3
Fill the stockpot with water and bring the water to a brisk boil. Fill the large bowl with ice water and set it aside momentarily.
Step 4
Add five fresh peaches at once to the boiling water and leave them in the water for about 45 seconds. Remove the peaches from the water and place them into the ice water immediately. Leave the peaches in the ice water for two minutes.
Step 5
Remove the peaches from the ice water and gently slide the skins from the peaches. Discard the skins and place the peaches onto the cutting board. Slice the peaches in half, remove the pits and then slice the peaches into wedges.
Step 6
Place the sliced peaches into the large bowl. When the bowl is full, pour the lemon juice lightly over them to prevent browning. Stir the peaches and the lemon juice carefully to ensure the lemon juices coats every peach slice.
Step 7
Fill one freezer bag about halfway to three-quarters full of sliced peaches. Add 1 cup of sugar solution or plain fruit juice to the bag. Seal the bag carefully to eliminate as much air as possible. Write the contents and the date on the bag and place it into the freezer.
Tip
The sugar solution recipe makes about 7 cups of solution and you need 1 cup of solution for each quart of peaches. Adjust the recipe to make more or less sugar solution, as necessary. Thaw frozen peaches by removing them from the freezer and placing them into the refrigerator for at least eight hours. Frozen peaches have a freezer life of about a year.
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