Best peaches are Early Elbertas (a.k.a. "Elbertas")--Late August-mid SeptemberBartlett Pears--Same time as Elbertas
Don't bottle fruit until it is ripe. If it is a little green, it will be hard to peel
1) Wash bottles
2) Put large pot of water on to boil in order to blanch fruit
3) Make syrup: 1-1/2 cups sugar per quart of water
4) Blanch fruit: Test a couple of pieces of fruit first to see how long you need to blanch them for easy peeling before doing a whole big batch. If you blanch too long, the layer of fruit right under the peeling will begin to cook. If you blanch too briefly, the fruit won't peel easily.- For peaches--Use strainer or large, slotted spoon to do several peaches at a time. Put in boiling water for 50 seconds-1 minute and then quickly put fruit into cold water. Peeling should slide off easily.
- For pears--Do 3 or 4 pears at a time. Dip into boiling water for 10-15 seconds. Quickly pull them out and put in cold water. Peeling can be scraped off easily with a small, serrated knife.
6) As jar begins to fill, wiggle it so more fruit will fit in. When jar is full, Put "Ever Fresh" or "Fruit Fresh" on top of sliced fruit in jars: 1/4 tsp. per quart of peaches, 1/2 tsp. per quart of pears
7) Pour hot syrup over sliced fruit, wiggling jar so liquid will fill all crevices.
8) As you get 7 jars full, adjust syrup depth as needed to be 1/2"-1" from top of rim. Wipe rims, put on lids and set in steamer to process
Steamer Method
Fill bottom of steamer with 6-8 cups water and add 2 Tbl. vinegar to prevent pot from browning. Fill jars with syrup 1" from top. Wipe rims and put lids and rings on. Place jars of fruit on rack. Cover with dome. Heat on med-high 'til steam comes out then turn to med-low. When steam comes out, start processing time: 25-30 min. After time ends, leave covered and just turn off stove. Let it sit, undisturbed for 20-30 min. Take off lid (and leave for a few more minutes, if able) and lift jars onto towel to cool.
Boiling Method
Fill large boiler canner 2/3-full of water. Fill jars of fruit with syrup 1/2" from top. Wipe rims and put lids and rings on. Place jars of fruit on rack and lower into canner. Add water to canner to cover bottles by at least 1/2". Cover and bring to easy boil. As soon as it begins to boil, start processing time: 30 min. Keep simmering the whole time. When time ends, lift jars onto towel to cool.
After sealing:
Leave jars of fruit on towel to cool overnight. Test "button" on top of lid to make sure all jars have sealed. The next day, wash jars in soapy water and remove rings. Mark tops of lids with year. Store in a cool, dark place.
