The End of Peaches

Hear ye, hear ye, the end of peach season is upon us. From the fertile fields of Pennsylvania, the luscious, unctious, ought-be-illegal-it's-so-good, crop of 2009 has just dropped. Time is ticking. If you see PA peaches still at your favorite farm market, scoop them up. Quickly. Like we just did. Thanks to the raid on our local grower, we found ourselves with a half bushel of beautiful blushing gems. The plan: Home Canned Vanilla Peaches.

By the way, we have two peach trees growing here, planted by us. Neither seems particularly happy. Peaches appear from the blossoms in late spring, and start to swell, almost teasing us. We have not treated the trees, and it shows. This year, one peach got very near eating size, and to protect it from birds and insects, I cut a piece of nylon stocking and wrapped it as it hung gracefully from a branch. Sadly, the raccoon that lives nearby has been endowed with opposable thumbs, and made quick work of the carefully wrapped snack. So this year, no homegrown peaches for us. Maybe next year will be better. We have a lot to learn.

And that would include canning. I am a rookie canner, and will likely stay that way. You see, I see canning as a large scale operation. I fail to see how a lone person could accomplish all of the vagaries of the canning process by themselves. If you locked me in the kitchen and put the task in front of me, you might still find me there three days later, up to my eyeballs in peels and lids. So, when two friends eagerly volunteered to join in the peach party, it was great news.

I'm also of the mind that with all of the work involved in home canning, I'll stick to the value-added product. Something pickled, or herbed, or complex in some exotic way. Something you wouldn't mind paying a little more for, if you could find it in the local high end grocery. That's how I decided on Vanilla Peaches. The idea is to put a sliced vanilla bean inside the jar with the peaches and sugar solution, then process it. The infusion of sweet, heady vanilla into those gorgeous peaches is already haunting me. The three of us spent a good deal of sweat equity, a small fortune in vanilla beans, and netted 20 quarts of love.

Now, the hard part. How to keep our hands OFF the peaches until winter arrives, and the taste of peaches has long been gone.......so that we can truly appreciate the investment spent. Don't be surprised if we hoard them a bit, and instead serve up some fine Del Monte product when you visit. I'm sure you would understand. But, to guarantee a jar of your own, do you want to sign up for the canning party next year?

Home Canned Vanilla Peaches

16 Pennsylvania grown freestone peaches

6 cups water

3 1/2 cups sugar

2 vanilla beans

2 lemons

4 wide-mouthed, quart jars/lids/rings

1. Sterilize Jars, Lids, Rings.

2. Mix together water and sugar and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Cool slightly. Put into a pourable container.

3. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of Lemon into each quart jar.

4. Cut vanilla beans in half. Then make slit vertically to expose seeds. Place one half into each jar.

5. Blanch peaches in boiling water for 1 minute, place in cold water bath. Cut in half, peel, remove pit and all parts of red fibrous core. Stack peach halves into jar, packing well. Stop when you are within an inch of the top.

6. Fill jars to within 1/2 inch with the sugar solution. Run a knife inside the jar to loosen air pockets.

7. Dip clean towel into boiling water and wipe the lip of the jar. Place lid and ring on jar and finger tighten.

8. Process in boiling water bath for 30 minutes. Cool, then check seal. Refrigerate those that do not seal properly.