Canning Peaches

I bought 20 pounds of Jersey peaches yesterday and we have been busy canning (and eating, lol) them. They are SO good!  :-)

So, how to can peaches?  It really isn't difficult and you will have the sweet, delicious fruit to enjoy all winter long.

First step is to prepare the syrup.  I have found that a medium syrup works well.  It is 1/2 part sugar to 1/2 part water.  I used 4 cups sugar and 8 cups water.  Begin to heat the water and put the sugar in slowly and stir until it dissolves.  Bring it to a gentle boil and then reduce to simmer.  Keep it on simmer the entire time you will be using it.

Fill your canner with water and put the heat on high.  By the time you are done preparing your peaches, it should be at a boil.

Prepare a bowl of water with a tablespoon of fruit fresh.  You will put your slices of peaches in this until you are ready to can them.  It will keep them from turning brown.

Wash your peaches and then peel them.  Some people find it easier to put their peaches in boiling water for 30-45 seconds, then in cold water to loosen the peels.  We just used a cucumber peeler and they came off without doing the hot/cold water thing.  :-)

Cut the peaches.  We cut ours in wedges.  Put them in the fruit fresh/water mixture.

When you are ready, put the peaches in your prepared jars (be sure they are clean and sanitized). We found that shaking the jar vigorously (I held a clean paper towel over the top when shaking) helped the peaches better fill the jar because they will shrink once canned.  Trust me!  You may need to shake them down a few times to fit lots of peaches in the jar.

Wipe the rim with a clean cloth or paper towel.  Fill with the syrup to 1/2-1 inch headspace and remove air bubbles.  Apply sanitized lid and apply ring to only fingertip tightness.

Put them in your canner of boiling water.  Be sure they are submerged with one inch of water on top.

For pints, process them for 25 minutes.  For quarts, 30 minutes.  What does "process" mean?  That means that the jars are in the boiling water with the lid on for the time specified.  :-)

Remove them when time is up and place them in a place where they won't be disturbed for 12-24 hours.  You should hear the "ping" of the lids beginning to seal.  :-)  I put them on the counter on top of a towel.

After they are sealed and cooled, mark the date on your lid and store in a cool, dry place.  Enjoy!!!!

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Claire Justine, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things, Modest Mom, Full Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, Tasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and  Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party and Food on Friday andHip Homeschool Moms, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home andGood Tastes Tuesday and Thriving Thursday and Friday Flash Blog Hop 



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My Week in Review #3

Welcome to Week #3 of My Week in Review.  There have been so many wonderful posts shared.  I look forward to seeing what everyone has been up to this week.  :-)

I have linked up in the first spot below.  We started school this week, took our first day photos at the park, had 3 kiddos break boards in Taekwondo and more.  Come on over and check it out!  :-)

An InLinkz Link-up

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My Week in Review/Weekly Wrap-Up/THMJ- 9/4

Can't believe this week is done!  It has been a whirlwind with coming home from vacation on Saturday and then getting back to our schedule in everything- school, Taekwondo, classes at church, 4-H.  Phew!

Our first day of school was on Wednesday.  We had our traditional breakfast at IHOP and our first day back photos at the park.

Kiddos 1 and 2 have started some of their online classes (ASL for Kiddo 2, Theology for them both) and Kiddo #1's college class starts on the 15th.  He is already busy reading (and highlighting!) his textbook.

Our garden has welcomed us home with lots of goodies:

And, on Wednesday evening, Kiddo 2 broke a half-inch board with his elbow (ouch!) to earn his green belt in Taekwondo.  Kiddos 3 and 4 broke boards with a sidekick and earned their yellow belts.  I am SO proud of them!  

Looking forward to our first 4-H meeting of this new school year on Saturday.

Don't forget, if you blog about your week, to come and join me for My Week in Review.  

And, if you have a chance, click below to see Kiddo 2 and 3's newest installment in their Animal Face-Off series.  This one has grizzly bear vs. polar bear.  Bet your kids will enjoy it!  The kiddos worked quite hard on it and will appreciate you coming over to take a look.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  God bless!  "See" you Monday for 'Try a New Recipe Tuesday!'  :-)

Linking up today with:  My Week in Review,  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week and Collage Friday

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Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Giveaway!

I took a brief hiatus from the H4H hop this summer, and it is great to be back, not only to see all of the wonderful posts that will be shared, but to take part in this back to homeschool giveaway.

Everything that is being given away has been made by those us who are co-hosting!  :-)

Good luck in the giveaway and as always, we all look forward to seeing the wonderful posts you will share this week!

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And now onto the linkup!

The most viewed post from last week was:

Ideas for Scheduling the Homeschool from Classically Homeschooling

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An InLinkz Link-up

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday- 9/2

Hope everyone in the U.S. and Canada had a wonderful Labor Day!

It is almost Tuesday and that means it is time for another week of recipe sharing!  :-)

The most viewed post from last week's linkup was:

Pink Lemonade Donuts from A Nest in the Rocks

An InLinkz Link-up

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My Week in Review/Weekly Wrap-Up/THMJ

This is a bit late going up this week, as checkout time was early on Saturday and we were out and about on Friday evening enjoying all that we could before packing up.

When you have a view like this everyday (in this photo I was reading my Kindle book), it is hard to want to go home:

On Monday, we celebrated Kiddo #2's birthday.  I wrote a post all about him and shared lots of photos here.  It was a fun day as we were on the beach, in the pool, on the boardwalk and in the arcade.

On Tuesday, we went on the amusements and in the evening, did some pier fishing:

Wednesday had us at the Cape May County Zoo.  For those of you who never visited, I couldn't recommend it more.  First of all, it is free.  Yes, free.  They just ask for a free will donation.  It is a beautiful zoo, set on hundreds of acres.  There are actually boardwalks that go over many of the animal enclosures so you get not only a unique perspective of the animals in their habitats, but it provides a natural, open, outdoors type of feel.  Just lovely.

Some of the highlights of the zoo included seeing rare white deer and the new baby giraffe.

On Wednesday, the guys did some beach fishing while Kiddo #4 and I went on the boards, went on some rides (well, she did, lol) and came home with some yummy snacks (funnel cake, etc.)  :-)

Early on Thursday, we were at one pier for their "3 ticket Thursday" amusement ride special.  After swimming and a BBQ dinner, we headed out on the boards to the other pier and I finally got my parrot picture!  I so wanted to hold the Blue and Gold Macaw that likes to be cradled like a baby!  :-)

On Friday afternoon, we rented a pontoon boat and enjoyed an afternoon of fishing, crabbing and sunshine.

The evening ended with a round of miniature golf and a walk to the end of the boardwalk.

And home we went the next morning.  Lots of great memories!  :-)

Linking up today with:  My Week in Review,  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week and Collage Friday

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My Week in Review #2

Last week's premiere of "My Week in Review" was a big success!  I am grateful to all who came over to link up.  It was so much fun reading everyone's posts!  :-)

We only have two more days of our vacation, :-(, but have many wonderful memories.  My post will be going live Friday night and I will link it up here, as we are planning to rent a boat on Friday and I know that there will be great pictures that I would want to include in my weekly review post.  :-)  So, come on back and check it out!  :-)

An InLinkz Link-up

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