Peach Picking Part Deux

Peach Picking Part Deux

Earlier in the summer, we went strawberry picking at Chiles Orchard. We went back another time for peach picking but I didn't manage many pictures since I was wrangling all three kids by myself. I thought we had picked enough peaches to can (20 pounds!) but we managed to eat most within 10 days so I froze the few that remained and told myself we would go back before the season ended.

So at the end of August, we finally made it out to Carter's Mountain for more Peach Picking.

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Those VIEWS!!!

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My friend Kelsey came with me and between the kids and us, we picked (and carried) 30 pounds down the mountain.

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So what to do with all of these peaches?

Can them of course! We canned four quarts of peaches in syrup and then made 13 half pint jars of Bourbon Peach Sauce.

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Why sauce, you ask? Why not! You can drizzle it on oatmeal or ice cream or yogurt - more versatile than a jam - especially since we don't eat a ton of bread in our house.

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Here is the recipe we adapted from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Peach Bourbon Sauce
Makes about 13 8ounce jars.
12 cups chopped, pitted, peeled peaches treated to prevent browning and drained. whew!
4 cups lightly packed brown sugar
4 cups granulated sugar
1.5 cups of your alcohol of choice (bourbon or rum is what I suggest)
4 drops of lemon essential oil (EOs never go bad like the lemons on your counter, just sayin)

  1. Prepare the canner, jars and lids by filling the water bath canner with water and bringing it to a boil. Submerge the jars and lids to sterilize them.
  2. Cut peaches in half, pit them, and peel the peaches. Whew! Pro tip: Briefly submerge the halved peaches in boiling water and then drop them in ice water to make the peeling go more quickly. Then chop the peaches into half-inch to inch chunks.
  3. In a large stanless steel saucepan, combine peaches, brown sugar, granulated sugar, alcohol, and essential oil. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20minutes. I love this recipe because a sauce is more forgiving than jam or jelly which needs to get to a more viscous state.
  4. Put sauce in the prepared jars. Place lids on and submerge in the waterbath canner.
  5. Process for 20 minutes. Remove jars and listen for the happy pops that meean the lids are secured. If you can still push the tops like Snapple lids, then the jars need to go back in the water bath.