Tell me what you would do with an abundance of peaches

[Liz CA]

Other than jellies, etc? I would actually make a bit of preserves or jelly if it doesn't take forever and / or I need special gadgets like Instapot or special pressure cooker which I don't have.

My brain is fried. Been another long week. Help me. We harvested crates full just from one tree. 

 

[almondbutterandjelly]

I would remove the pits and freeze them in ziplocs, but I'm lazy like that.

[Moonhawk]

I am canning peaches right now as I type! I do a water bath. It's going to take me a while because my stove can't heat well, but I think it's fun and everyone is happy afterwards 

Edit: water bath you don't need special stuff exactly, a large pot (large enough to submerge your jars with an inch or two of rolling boil on top), water, and then the mason jars/lids. I highly highly suggest the thing that grips the jars and puts them in/out of the water. I did a couple canning sessions last year without it and it was much more stressful. I think it costs 5-9$ depending on brand/store. Other than that I can't think of special stuff you need to can it.

Edited August 22, 2020 by Moonhawk

[barnwife]

Eat them. And slice and freeze the rest. 

Were I not 343287924378 months pregnant, I'd probably also do baking with them right away. But as I decided that dinner last night was yogurt and granola due to this stage of pregnancy, baking isn't at the top of my list right now.

[Ali in OR]

I froze a bunch of cup-size plastic canning jars with diced, sugared peaches (recipe from Ball Blue Book for frozen peaches). Then once a week during winter I take one out in the morning to let it thaw and at lunch I have some peaches with plain Greek yogurt and granola. I also canned 7 quarts---canning feels like more work to me, and I made a peach blackberry crisp.

[Liz CA]

7 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

I am canning peaches right now as I type! I do a water bath. It's going to take me a while because my stove can't heat well, but I think it's fun and everyone is happy afterwards 

 

Okay, I should not be so lazy. I will look in my Blue Book of Canning to see if I can fathom it or if the job overwhelms me just by reading the instructions.  :)

5 minutes ago, barnwife said:

Eat them. And slice and freeze the rest. 

Were I not 343287924378 months pregnant, I'd probably also do baking with them right away. But as I decided that dinner last night was yogurt and granola due to this stage of pregnancy, baking isn't at the top of my list right now.

 

We have been eating them every single day. There are only 2 little Indians left in this house and a few hens (who also have been eating peaches) so I need another method of processing. It's too hot in CA to bake much right now. And congrats on being pregnant!

Edited August 22, 2020 by Liz CA

[livetoread]

I put them on a cookie sheet whole, freeze them overnight, then put them in a freezer bag. Lately I’ve been using them in smoothies. I take one out and put it in a bowl of water while I put the rest of the ingredients in the blender. Then I easily slip the skin off, cut frozen wedges off until only the pit is left, throw them in, and blend. Yummy. 

[kokotg]

11 minutes ago, livetoread said:

I put them on a cookie sheet whole, freeze them overnight, then put them in a freezer bag. Lately I’ve been using them in smoothies. I take one out and put it in a bowl of water while I put the rest of the ingredients in the blender. Then I easily slip the skin off, cut frozen wedges off until only the pit is left, throw them in, and blend. Yummy. 

This. My husband froze a bunch of ours whole as an experiment last year, and it was fine. He just pulls them out and eats them as is. 

[Spy Car]

I'm in the pit, slice into sections, freeze on trays (using parchment paper if available), and then bagging in zip-locks once individually frozen camp.

Bill

[MEmama]

Pie. Obviously. 🤪

[Pen]

Blending ideas- freezing some into pie shells ready for winter baking is probably possible. I do that with blackberries sometimes.  

 

[Spy Car]

23 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

Okay, I should not be so lazy. I will look in my Blue Book of Canning to see if I can fathom it or if the job overwhelms me just by reading the instructions.  🙂

 

We have been eating them every single day. There are only 2 little Indians left in this house and a few hens (who also have been eating peaches) so I need another method of processing. It's too hot in CA to bake much right now. And congrats on being pregnant!

We've had a little relief here in LA today. Between heat, the unusual humidity, and (distant) fire smoke my brain has not been working very well all week.

A nice cold peach sounds really good.

Bill

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I made freezer preserves with peaches once. It didn't gel, but it was the BEST ice cream topping I have ever had. I'd heat it slightly and spoon it onto butter pecan ice cream. OMG. Out of this world.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Suzanne in ABQ

[cjzimmer1]

I slice them in an orange juice concentrate/sugar syrup and freeze them.  They are fantastic when partially thawed.  Other uses, eat fresh whole, bowls and bowls of peaches and cream, pie, crumbles, crisps, cut in half remove pit, throw halves (skin and all) in freezer for smoothies, dehydrate slices, blend them up and then put in the dehydrator for dried fruit leather.

I ordered 3 bushels but they place I get them from said they had to use a different supplier.  For us it's quite late in the season and I'm starting to wonder if we will even get any.

[Liz CA]

43 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

We've had a little relief here in LA today. Between heat, the unusual humidity, and (distant) fire smoke my brain has not been working very well all week.

A nice cold peach sounds really good.

Bill

 

Wish I could send you all some peaches. If you feel like a little drive...we are just an hour north of Sacramento.

[Liz CA]

4 minutes ago, Suzanne in ABQ said:

I made freezer preserves with peaches once. It didn't gel, but it was the BEST ice cream topping I have ever had. I'd heat it slightly and spoon it onto butter pecan ice cream. OMG. Out of this world.

 

 

 

Sounds delish. Is there a recipe?  :)

[Liz CA]

48 minutes ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

Eat a bunch, because I love fresh peaches. 

Freeze a bunch for smoothies and yogurt throughout the year. 

Ding dong ditch my neighbors with peaches (although that might not work if your neighbors have peach trees). 

Make a bunch of peach muffins and drop them off at the soup kitchen, these days they're making up bagged meals, and baked goods are always a hit. 

Make a few pans of peach crisp and drop them off at the men's shelter.  

 

Offered some to my neighbor this morning. He just laughed and said someone already unloaded a bunch in his house. :)

[Ausmumof3]

Try out my fowlers unit we bought on gumtree last summer!  And chuck some on the dehydrator.

[Liz CA]

Just now, CuriousMomof3 said:

That's for all of us right?

Google maps tells me if I get in the car now, I could be there by lunch on Monday.  (Google maps doesn't understand that people need to stop for gas). 

 

Yes, all of you.  :) 

[Liz CA]

3 hours ago, MEmama said:

Pie. Obviously. 🤪

 

😋 In times of COVID (increased food consumption) and after many already digested peach cobblers, I am trying to "preserve" some without actually going through the somewhat lengthy canning process. Also, I have hardly any canning jars left...all are already in use.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Liz CA

[Pen]

10 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Try out my fowlers unit we bought on gumtree last summer!  And chuck some on the dehydrator.

 

I always feel fearful about doing home canning wrong, is a Fowlers fairly easy?  I wonder if there’s a US version.  Supposed to be that an Instant Pot can be used somehow 🤷‍♀️.    I sure would like to be able to dehydrate foods!  

[Pen]

Lamb and peaches - there are recipes for lamb and apricots, and peaches could probably substitute. 

[livetoread]

Oh, also I turned the ones I didn’t freeze whole into cold peach soup and froze that. No heat required, just a blender. Peaches, a touch of lime juice, touch of vanilla, coconut milk, and mango nectar. Bit of honey if needed. Good by itself or served with sliced strawberries and a little mint.

[Bambam]

I recently froze a bunch to use in smoothies. 
I have dried them in the dehydrator, but I don't do that often as they don't seem to be a big hit.
I did try making fruit leather with them this year. That was a hit.
We have made peach-applesauce too. I haven't frozen that, but we've frozen homemade applesauce it is was good later.

[Ausmumof3]

59 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

I always feel fearful about doing home canning wrong, is a Fowlers fairly easy?  I wonder if there’s a US version.  Supposed to be that an Instant Pot can be used somehow 🤷‍♀️.    I sure would like to be able to dehydrate foods!  

The new ones are set and forget I think but mine is one of the vintage water bath style where you have to get temp and timing right manually.  My fam have done it for years so I figure I’ll just ring for advice.   I have done pasta sauce just in a stockpot. The dehydrator is great the only downside is the kids usually eat the dried stuff before I can get it packed away. 

[Ausmumof3]

I want to be able to can stuff because having a heap of stuff in the freezer feels a bit risky after you’ve had a freezer die on you!

[Spy Car]

1 hour ago, Liz CA said:

 

Wish I could send you all some peaches. If you feel like a little drive...we are just an hour north of Sacramento.

Tempting.

I figured you were up north. I'm not sure we get enough chill hours for peaches down here.

I hope we both cool off soon.

Bill

[*Jessica*]

I would make pans and pans of this and eat it for every meal.  
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/peach-and-pecan-sandy-crumble/

[KungFuPanda]

Do you have freezer space? Frozen peaches work great in cobblers, pies, crisps, and smoothies.

[mom2scouts]

You should make pie. Lots of pie. You should also send me one.

[mumto2]

My mom always sliced and froze them in roughly the shape of the pan she would be using them in.  So pie pan shaped, 9x12’s so rectangles in 9x6 etc and stacked them up in the freezer.  Her peach cake was everyone’s favorite and it was frozen peaches with a yellow cake mix (unless she was out of them and made from scratch) mixed and dumped on top.  I always just took hers.....terrible daughter!😉

[Liz CA]

52 minutes ago, *Jessica* said:

I would make pans and pans of this and eat it for every meal.  
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/peach-and-pecan-sandy-crumble/

 

This looks so easy and I have every ingredient except the pecans which I can get tomorrow....

45 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Do you have freezer space? Frozen peaches work great in cobblers, pies, crisps, and smoothies.

 

Yes, just put a bunch of cubed peaches in syrup in a gallon freezer bag into my freezer. There are already a few bags of peaches in there along with zucchini (in separate bags :0 )

[theelfqueen]

I'd give them away. I dont like peaches and DH can't have stone fruit. It is possible that not one of my kids (25, 19 and 15) has ever eaten a peach.... or maybe they are their favorites and I dont know it cause I don't but them lol 

[KrissiK]

Make and freeze pie filling. I did that with apricots this spring. Yummy!!

[Pam in CT]

This whole thread is a dreamlit FANTASY for me. It is vanishingly rare, that a peach is any good at all, by the time it gets to CT.  

To the point that, back in the Beforetimes when I used to go to actual IRL stores, I'd stand there musingly by the display, dare I eat this peach?  because the odds are SO HIGH that it will be SO DISAPPOINTING.  Safer to stick to stuff that travels better.

Once upon a time, more than a decade ago, we took a slow road trip down to the Smokies at the height of peach season, stopping at farmer stands all along the way. I still have a  dear memory of sitting with my son on two Adirondack chairs, in a pasture outside one of the Blue Ridge Parkway lodges, with a full-size paper grocery bag filled only with peaches and a roll of paper towels, eating every single one.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

 

These roasted & grilled peach recipes sound AMAZING.  Since COVID I've been trying to work in fruit in some form at every dinner.

[Lady Marmalade]

In the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving there is a recipe for Peach Salsa that I make every year- SO good and is a necessity for us! We love it on tacos or just scooped up with chips.

Also from that same book I've made and enjoyed:

Cranberry Peach Conserve, Peach Almond Conserve, Hot and Sweet Chili Sauce, Peach Butter, and the Zesty Peach Barbecue Sauce.   I did not like the Summer Salsa at all. 

If you don't have that book and need the recipes I would be happy to get those typed up for you.  🙂

[BlsdMama]

16 hours ago, Liz CA said:

Other than jellies, etc? I would actually make a bit of preserves or jelly if it doesn't take forever and / or I need special gadgets like Instapot or special pressure cooker which I don't have.

My brain is fried. Been another long week. Help me. We harvested crates full just from one tree. 

 

Can them in quart jars - my mom always did them every year and there's nothing prettier than home canned peaches in a jar.  We don't grow them very well here so they were an uncommon annual tradition if that makes sense? Uncommon in that it was a splurge to buy all the peaches in season, but tradition in that we always did it and because it wasn't something we grew, it was special. 😉 

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

This whole thread is a dreamlit FANTASY for me. It is vanishingly rare, that a peach is any good at all, by the time it gets to CT.  

To the point that, back in the Beforetimes when I used to go to actual IRL stores, I'd stand there musingly by the display, dare I eat this peach?  because the odds are SO HIGH that it will be SO DISAPPOINTING.  Safer to stick to stuff that travels better.

Once upon a time, more than a decade ago, we took a slow road trip down to the Smokies at the height of peach season, stopping at farmer stands all along the way. I still have a  dear memory of sitting with my son on two Adirondack chairs, in a pasture outside one of the Blue Ridge Parkway lodges, with a full-size paper grocery bag filled only with peaches and a roll of paper towels, eating every single one.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

 

These roasted & grilled peach recipes sound AMAZING.  Since COVID I've been trying to work in fruit in some form at every dinner.

Right?! I gave up on buying peaches long ago...I had no idea before moving to the northeast that a good one is a true rarity. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around having *too many*. One would be a dream! 

BUT I have a neighbor who grows peaches! In coastal Maine! And there are tons on his tree, I have no idea how he does it. Whenever we walk by DH is tempted to help clean up underneath the tree...

[Pam in CT]

re PEACHES IN MAINE???!!!!

5 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Right?! I gave up on buying peaches long ago...I had no idea before moving to the northeast that a good one is a true rarity. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around having *too many*. One would be a dream! 

BUT I have a neighbor who grows peaches! In coastal Maine! And there are tons on his tree, I have no idea how he does it. Whenever we walk by DH is tempted to help clean up underneath the tree...

But.... but.... but... HOW?

I mean, I must be a full zone more southern than you, and I'm also pretty close to the "coast" (which is, itself, the well-protected Sound rather than true Atlantic, more a sloshing big bathtub than "ocean").  And we have APPLES here, and most years they do fine, but once a decade or so there's a sustained hard late spring frost after the trees have blossomed that -- literally -- kills the crop for the year.  Doesn't kill the trees, but kills that year's crop.  How on earth does he protect them?

In any event: cultivate that relationship!

[KrissiK]

8 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

You can make apricot pie?  I need that recipe.

Same as peach pie,just use apricots instead. I don’t peel them, just halve or quarter them, sugar, thickener (I prefer tapioca), a little cinnamon and usually I will make a French topping because I hate dealing with pie crusts so much that I never make a double crust pie.

[KrissiK]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

This whole thread is a dreamlit FANTASY for me. It is vanishingly rare, that a peach is any good at all, by the time it gets to CT.  

To the point that, back in the Beforetimes when I used to go to actual IRL stores, I'd stand there musingly by the display, dare I eat this peach?  because the odds are SO HIGH that it will be SO DISAPPOINTING.  Safer to stick to stuff that travels better.

Once upon a time, more than a decade ago, we took a slow road trip down to the Smokies at the height of peach season, stopping at farmer stands all along the way. I still have a  dear memory of sitting with my son on two Adirondack chairs, in a pasture outside one of the Blue Ridge Parkway lodges, with a full-size paper grocery bag filled only with peaches and a roll of paper towels, eating every single one.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

 

These roasted & grilled peach recipes sound AMAZING.  Since COVID I've been trying to work in fruit in some form at every dinner.

They modify them so they ship well, but they are so flavorless, and pick them so green that they never ripen properly. It’s really a shame.

[Pam in CT]

7 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

They modify them so they ship well, but they are so flavorless, and pick them so green that they never ripen properly. It’s really a shame.

It's true.

There IS a silver-lining-seeking part of me, that rather celebrates the rare preciousness of fruits like cherries (only available here 1 month out of 12) and tomatoes (which can be FOUND here all year round, but are only local and worth it 2 months out of 12; otherwise I only use grape, which travel better, or dried, which I adore). Or peaches, which having lived in the NE all my life I truly, actually didn't know were awesome until I traveled (ditto: olives).  

There's a gift buried in that scarcity. Bananas and apples are also awesome but I take them very much for granted.

[Liz CA]

3 hours ago, Lady Marmalade said:

In the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving there is a recipe for Peach Salsa that I make every year- SO good and is a necessity for us! We love it on tacos or just scooped up with chips.

Also from that same book I've made and enjoyed:

Cranberry Peach Conserve, Peach Almond Conserve, Hot and Sweet Chili Sauce, Peach Butter, and the Zesty Peach Barbecue Sauce.   I did not like the Summer Salsa at all. 

If you don't have that book and need the recipes I would be happy to get those typed up for you.  🙂

 

Wait...is this the same book as my Ball Blue Book of Preserving? I have to check if there is a peach salsa recipe.

[MEmama]

3 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

re PEACHES IN MAINE???!!!!

But.... but.... but... HOW?

I mean, I must be a full zone more southern than you, and I'm also pretty close to the "coast" (which is, itself, the well-protected Sound rather than true Atlantic, more a sloshing big bathtub than "ocean").  And we have APPLES here, and most years they do fine, but once a decade or so there's a sustained hard late spring frost after the trees have blossomed that -- literally -- kills the crop for the year.  Doesn't kill the trees, but kills that year's crop.  How on earth does he protect them?

In any event: cultivate that relationship!

Idk but they are the envy of the neighbourhood. 
I tried to get a photo but the lighting is terrible and the peaches are still green so hard to see. I promise the teee is bursting with fruit.

[Liz CA]

2 hours ago, KrissiK said:

Same as peach pie,just use apricots instead. I don’t peel them, just halve or quarter them, sugar, thickener (I prefer tapioca), a little cinnamon and usually I will make a French topping because I hate dealing with pie crusts so much that I never make a double crust pie.

 

Can you share your version of French topping? I see a lot of Bisquick mixes in those recipes. Is there a made from scratch version? There must be.  :)

I feel for all of you who cannot get their hands on a ripe, fresh peach. We are truly blessed here. Wish my arm would reach to CT, I'd hand you a few.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Liz CA

[cjzimmer1]

3 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

Wait...is this the same book as my Ball Blue Book of Preserving? I have to check if there is a peach salsa recipe.

I don't think so since I went to check my copy after she posted and I couldn't find it in my copy.  Hopefully she'll post the recipe.

[Liz CA]

2 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Idk but they are the envy of the neighbourhood. 
I tried to get a photo but the lighting is terrible and the peaches are still green so hard to see. I promise the teee is bursting with fruit.

 

I can see the little peaches. I thought he had maybe a climate controlled area. The tree seems very happy too right out there in the open.

[Liz CA]

4 hours ago, Lady Marmalade said:

In the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving there is a recipe for Peach Salsa that I make every year- SO good and is a necessity for us! We love it on tacos or just scooped up with chips.

Also from that same book I've made and enjoyed:

Cranberry Peach Conserve, Peach Almond Conserve, Hot and Sweet Chili Sauce, Peach Butter, and the Zesty Peach Barbecue Sauce.   I did not like the Summer Salsa at all. 

If you don't have that book and need the recipes I would be happy to get those typed up for you.  🙂

 CJzimmer and I figured it's not the Ball Book of Preserving we have.

Could you post /link the recipe for the peach salsa, please?   

[Arctic Bunny]

Thank you all for the lovely conversation over morning coffee! How lovely to sit and read a normal food-related thread!

Since I completely identify with the inherent risk of buying peaches, I just tried one that I bought two days ago (and paid over a dollar each for, I might add!). It was actually delicious! Which makes me envious of how delicious your abundance of peaches must be!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

[Arctic Bunny]

Double post

Edited August 23, 2020 by arctic_bunny