Fail Proof Canning Peaches with an Herbal Tea & Honey Syrup
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Canning peaches is a simple one! In a world of overcomplicated canning and way too many steps and fear mongering, lemme show you how I can peaches.
Now. I don’t make a traditional syrup per se, but I choose to make an herbal tea, sweetened with a little honey if needed, and can my peaches in that. There is NOTHING that says you HAVE to can peaches in a syrup or you’ll die. Promise.
I steep a turmeric, ginger, and black tea in boiling water, add some honey, and then ladle that overtop my peach slices with some lemon juice. This method has served me well for several years, and let’s not forget to mention the HEALTH benefits peach juice provides. Mixed with some anti-inflammatory herbal tea… sign me up.
Potential Health Benefits of Canning Peaches
Rather than having a traditional sugar laden syrup that you pack your peaches in, make a tea that has multiple health benefits and have not only delish shelf stable peaches, but also a medicinal drink in the form of this herbal peach juice you will create in your jars.
Peach juice alone has been found to potentially help with stomach upset, nausea, and inflammation. Whenever my kids are nauseous, I love to give them some of this juice to sip on. It tastes really good, settles tummies, and in the off chance it comes back up… it doesn’t taste horrific.
And eating both the peaches and the juice gives you both soluble AND insoluble fiber to aid in good gut health and really open those pathways… that means you’re pooping at least once a day! Our bodies need that to properly detox and remove toxins effectively.
Canned peaches are also nice and soft and very easy to digest, even more so than fresh peaches. They also aid in gut motility and move things right along. So when stomachs be hurting and reflux be refluxing, reach for a jar of these peaches, not the pepto-bismol.
There’s other benefits to eating peaches I’m sure, as there are with most fresh fruits and vegetables. But, the GI ones are what I use it for and have really seen good benefit from.
Herbs to Use for the Herbal Tea Syrup Canning Peaches
My preference for the herbal tea is to use a blend of turmeric root, ginger root, and black tea. That’s my favorite and that’s what I’ll continue to do.
If you have a favorite tea blend or whatever, use that! You can honestly use whatever you want here, within reason considering some flavors may be awfully strange with peaches.
You can buy pre-made tea bags, which I’ve used before. I really love the turmeric ginger tea from Mountain Rose Herbs when I’m not feeling like making my own or don’t have turmeric and ginger on hand or dried. I really need to get better at remember to grow it. Totally forgot again this year. :D
And if you’re a “omg you need black pepper to activate the circumin in the turmeric” or whatever girlie…. I AM NOT PUTTING BLACK PEPPER IN MY PEACHES. Go on…. and I can’t emphasize this enough… GIT.
Other herbs that would be great:
- chamomile
- lavender
- dandelion root
- catnip
- skullcap
- vanilla beans
How to Peel Peaches for Canning
First off, I RARELY peel my peaches anymore. I once had just about enough of peeling peaches and just slapped them in jars peels and all…. and they were GOOD. So, now, I can’t be bothered unless I’m feeling like an overachiever or I need a jar for fair entry.
The best way I have found to peel peaches is to make sure they’re ripe first off. Rock hard peaches ain’t gonna peel easily.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, cut an X into the peaches butt (the bottom, opposite the stem) and drop it in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Once you see the peels start to roll back from where you cut, remove them and plunge them into ice water to cool down immediately. If you skip the ice water step, your peaches will continue cooking and be mush.
Then with your hands, peel back the thin skins by hand. They should just wipe off. Any bug spots or stubborn spots can be cut off with a small paring knife.
Store peaches in acidulated water with lemon juice or vitamin C powder or citric acid to prevent browning while you work.
How Many Peaches Do I Need to Can?
Plan on about 2-3 pounds of peach per quart of peaches you would like to can. 1 quart is 2 pint jars. This recipe is for 10-15 pounds of peaches.
Let’s can us some peaches!
Equipment You Might Want
- Stock Pot
- Pint or Quart Wide Mouth Canning Jars
- Paring Knife
- Large Bowl
- Jar Funnel
- Canning Lids & Screw Bands
- Steam Canner
- Water Bath Canning Pot
- Jar Lifter
Ingredients
- 10-15 pounds fresh, ripe freestone peaches
- 5 Tbs lemon juice, divided
- 2 quarts water
- 1/2-1 cup honey
- 3 Tbs turmeric ginger dried tea blend
Step 1: Prep
Start by adding 2 quarts of water to a stock pot and bring to a boil while you work. Once boiling, shut off heat and add the tea blend using a stainless steel tea infuser. Allow tea to infuse at least 10 minutes.
Wash your peaches and removing peels if desired using method you like.
Quarter peaches and remove pits. Add to a bowl with acidulated water to prevent browning. Or you can add them to quart jars and add 1 Tbs lemon juice over them as you fill each quart jar if you work quickly.
Add honey to the tea and stir to dissolve.
Step 2: Canning
Add peach slices to jars, keeping below 1/2 inch headspace.
Add hot honey tea to headspace, remove any air bubbles, and add more liquid if needed to maintain headspace.
Wipe jar rims, add lids, and secure with screw bands according to manufacturer’s instruction.
Process quart jars in a steam canner or water bath canning pot for 30 minutes or pints for 25 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
Once processing time is complete, shut off heat, remove jars, and set aside to cool undisturbed on a heat proof surface lined with a towel.
Step 3: Storing
Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Proper storage temperatures are 55-75F.
Shelf life is ’til you eat it. If the seal is good, the food is fine. I aim to rotate through canned goods every 2 years for best flavor and nutrition, but if needed, they last much longer.
Notes:
This method does yield about 1-2″ of floating fruit space at the bottom since the peaches are raw packed. It doesn’t bother me because I’m in it for the juice and herbal tea just as much as the peaches.
If it does, you can heat the peach slices in the herbal tea by bringing it up to a boil, blanching them for 30 seconds, and then straining and adding them to jars. Processing times would be reduced to 20 minutes pints and 25 minutes quarts, adjusting for elevation.
Equipment
- stock pot
- Pint or Quart Wide Mouth Canning Jars
- Paring Knife
- Large bowl
- Canning lids & screw bands
- jar lifter
Ingredients
- 10-15 pounds fresh ripe freestone peaches
- 5 Tbs lemon juice divided
- 2 quarts water
- 1/2-1 cup honey
- 3 Tbs turmeric ginger dried tea blend
Instructions
Step 1:Â Prep
- Start by adding 2 quarts of water to a stock pot and bring to a boil while you work. Once boiling, shut off heat and add the tea blend using a stainless steel tea infuser. Allow tea to infuse at least 10 minutes.
- Wash your peaches and removing peels if desired using method you like.
- Quarter peaches and remove pits. Add to a bowl with acidulated water to prevent browning. Or you can add them to quart jars and add 1 Tbs lemon juice over them as you fill each quart jar if you work quickly
- Add honey to the tea and stir to dissolve.
Step 2:Â Canning
- Add peach slices to jars, keeping below 1/2 inch headspace.
- Add hot honey tea to headspace, remove any air bubbles, and add more liquid if needed to maintain headspace.
- Wipe jar rims, add lids, and secure with screw bands according to manufacturer’s instruction.
- Process quart jars in a steam canner or water bath canning pot for 30 minutes or pints for 25 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
- Once processing time is complete, shut off heat, remove jars, and set aside to cool undisturbed on a heat proof surface lined with a towel.
Step 3:Â Storing
- Once cooled, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight. Proper storage temperatures are 55-75F.
- Shelf life is ’til you eat it. If the seal is good, the food is fine. I aim to rotate through canned goods every 2 years for best flavor and nutrition, but if needed, they last much longer.
Notes
Be sure and check out all our other peach canning recipes!
