Canning Peaches

If you’ve never tried canning peaches before, don’t worry. This is a great beginner project, I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step. 

Learn how to peel peaches easily, decide between raw pack and hot pack, sugar or sweetener options, and safely process them in either a water bath or steam canner.

• For the folks who like to watch I’ve included a full process video below.  
• For the folks (like me) who like to read and scan there is a full text step by step.

If you like this canning video…you might also like our full Canning Basics & Projects Course.

👉 Supplies mentioned

• Polder Blancher
• Bubble Tool, Canning Hand Tools
• Stainless Tea Kettle (very similar to mine)
• Widemouth jars

Quick Look

• Gather supplies and prepare jars and canner. 
• Prepare syrup (optional) or use water for canning. 
• Choose between raw pack and hot pack methods.
• Peel, slice, and pit fresh peaches.
• Pack peaches into jars and cover with syrup.
• Seal jars and place them in the canner.
• Process jars in water bath or steam canner for specified times.

Now let’s go over these in more detail.  With a printable step by step below. 

How to Can Peaches – directions for beginners. 

Know Your Canner

If you’ve never canned before,  you should familiarize yourself with either the water bath canner or the steam canner. And how to use them.  There are instructions included below but if you are not familiar with them I’ve got a couple of resources to get you up to speed with lots of details:  “How to Use a Water Bath Canner” and “How to Use a Steam Canner.”

Personally, I’m using my steam canner more and more!

Quantity:

These quantities are an estimate.   About 17.5 pounds would make 7 quarts of home canned peaches.  That is about 2.5 pounds per quart.  About 11 pounds for 9 pints.  

What is the Best Peach for Canning?

Freestone vs Clingstone Peaches

Any peach (except white) will work but I will always opt for freestone peaches when canning. They are much easier to prepare. With clingstone peaches, the flesh gets mushed up… it’s almost impossible to avoid it.

• Freestone peaches are those where the pit or “stone” comes out easily when cut open.
• Clingstone peaches have flesh that ‘clings’ to the pit and it is difficult to remove.

I will say that some people insist that clingstone is better as the texture of the peach is nicer after canning.

Sharon says… save the clingstones for peach jam!

White Flesh Peaches vs Yellow Peaches

Choose yellow peaches for canning. White peaches have lower acidity levels, which can pose safety concerns. There are no tested directions for either pressure canning or water bath canning white peaches.

Syrup for Canning Peaches

You’ll need liquid to add to your jars of peaches. I like to make this syrup right in a tea pot.   The pour spout makes it easy to pour the syrup over the peaches in the jars.   Ladles are messy!

Canning Peaches with Sugar Syrup

Simply heat water and sugar in a pot until sugar dissolves. (less sugar is fine too)

• Light syrup- 2 cups sugar to 1 quart water
• Medium – 3 cups sugar to 1 quart water

Canning Peaches with No Sugar

Did you know…? You don’t have to add any sugar if you don’t want to. You can simply use plain water.  Sugar is not a preservative in this case.

Sugar does help the fruit to maintain flavor, color, and texture.  Also much of the juices from the peaches ends up in the water and it tends to wash out the flavor.  

Canning Peaches with Honey Syrup

You can also make syrup with honey if you don’t want to use processed sugar.

• Light – 1 1/2 cups honey to 4 cups water 
• Medium – 2 cups honey to 4 cups water

Canning Peaches in Juice

Apple Juice and white grape juice are great light tasting sweet alternatives. 

Adding Spices to Home Canned Peaches

Do you like a little cinnamon with your peaches?  You can safely add a little bit of spice to your syrup.  Be sure you are using dried spices not fresh.  A little goes a long way! 

If you use whole spices take them out before you fill your jars.  For example if you like cloves you can simmer whole cloves in your syrup, but remove them before filling jars. They end up much too strong! 

How to Peel Peaches for Canning

Slice the peaches in half and remove the pits.

• Place peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Move them immediately into cold water.
• Slice around the seam of the peach.
• Slip the skins off with your hands.
• Twist apart and remove the pit.

If peaches are a little underripe, you may need to use a paring knife on stubborn spots.

Packing the jars

Choosing Halves or Sliced Peaches

You can choose to can peaches in

• Halves – Pack them with the cavity side down so they stack together. (my personal preference)
• Quarters – You may fit a few more peaches in the jar if you go with quarters. The pieces will nestle together more.
• Slices – Depending on the size of the peach you could choose to slice the quarters again. Do this only if you happen to have really large peaches. If you slice too small they will end up softer after processing.

Tip: If you have wide mouth jars, it makes it easier to place halved peaches in the bottom of the jar cavity side down.

Raw Pack or Hot Pack method

You can either hot or raw pack peaches. It is just personal preference. Remember this is just referring to how you pack the jars. Either method will still be processed in a canner.

• Raw Pack: I prefer to raw pack and fill one jar at a time as I peel, pit, and slice. I then immediately cover the peaches with hot syrup and place in hot water in canner to keep warm while I prepare the next jar. Leave 1/2-inch headspace.
• Hot Pack: Slice peaches into a pot of syrup. When you have enough fruit prepared for your jars, bring to boil and turn off heat. Fill jars with hot fruit and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

What Causes Floating Peaches?

This can be simply a result of your fruit and the way you processed it. Floating is just a cosmetic issue. There is air in the fruit that causes it to rise. If you hot pack floating is less likely. Heating the peaches first releases air from the flesh of the fruit.

Choose: Steam Canning, Water Bath, or Pressure Canning?

Steam Canning or Water Bath Canning?

I’ve included instructions for water bath canning but this is a great project for a steam canner too.

When steam canning, you’ll pack your jars just like a water bath. Use the same processing time. But the canner’s processing steps are a bit different than a water bath. Follow the instructions on how to use a steam canner.

Canning Peaches – The Recipe

FAQs

Why Are My Peaches Floating?

Floating peaches is something that happens usually in raw pack style peaches. It is due to trapped air within the fruit or the jar. It is simply cosmetic. There is nothing wrong with your peaches.

I Lost Liquid in My Home Canned Peaches

Losing liquid in canned peaches can happen for various reasons, wrong headspace, a poor seal, or temperature fluctuations during processing. I’ve got more on liquid loss (sometimes called siphoning) and potential reasons for it.

What Do I Do If My Jar Doesn’t Seal?

If your jar doesn’t seal after processing, it doesn’t mean you have to throw away the food. You have a few options:

• Allow the jar to cool completely and then reprocess it. You’ll need to repack the jar and use a new lid and following proper guidelines. (Your peaches may be over cooked.)
• You can opt for freezing. This would avoid the mush peach issue of reprocessing. Empty the jar into a freezer safe container.
• Best option! – Refrigerate the contents right away and consume within a few days.

How Long Do Home Canned Peaches Last?

Home canned peaches have a shelf life of around 1 to 1.5 years when stored in a cool, dark place. This is a quality issue more than a safety issue. Peaches will start getting soft after this length of time. Many people keep their jars longer with no issue.

Do You Have to Use Lemon Juice When Canning Peaches?

Lemon juice is not required in canning peaches. But it will not hurt anything. In fact it might just a a bit of tartness to the flavor if you like that. But it is not needed for safety reasons.

Is Freezing Peaches or Canning Better?

Both freezing and canning are good methods, each with its own advantages. Freezing preserves texture but requires freezer space. Canning provides shelf-stable preservation, but peaches might soften over time. The choice depends on your preference. I almost never freeze peaches. Canning is my go to. (dehydrating is a close second!)

How Long After Opening a Jar of Canned Peaches Will They Keep in My Refrigerator?

Treat them just as you would a can of peaches from the store, which usually keeps a few days to a week or so. Peaches with sugar will last longer than if you canned them with no sugar, as the sugar does help preservation. Watch for any mold or spoilage.

• Sources
• https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/safefood/files/2019/08/SafeSubstitutions.pdf
• Ball Blue Book
• National Center for Home Food Preservation