Pickled Peaches

Nancy Sneed's Note:

One of my favorites from when I was a kid! Yummmm. These are cooked and then let stand for 12 to 18 hours and then canned.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 2 quarts

• 6 lbs firm-ripe peaches , peeled,pitted and halved
• 6 ¾ cups sugar
• 3 ½ cups white vinegar (labeled 5% acidity)
• 4 (2 ½ inch) cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon whole clove
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. Combine sugar and vinegar in a 6 to 8 quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
3. Boil for 5 minutes.
4. Tie spices in spice bag or cheesecloth.
5. Add spice bag and peaches to syrup.
6. Simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes or until peaches are cooked but not too soft, stirring peaches gently to cook all sides.
7. Cover and let stand in a cool place for 12 to 18 hours, stirring peaches 2 or 3 times.
8. Bring peaches to a boil.
9. Remove them from heat and remove spices.
10. Skim off foam, if necessary.
11. Immediately fill hot pint or quart jars with mixture, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
12. Carefully run a nonmetalic utensil down inside of jars to remove trapped air bubbles.
13. Wipe jar tops and threads clean.
14. Place hot lids on jars and screw bands on firmly.
15. Process in boiling Water Canner for 25 minutes for quarts or 20 minutes for pints.
16. Yield: appproximately 2 quarts or 4 to 5 pints.

Reviews

[chejon]

I had some reservations about trying this recipe; after all, "pickled peaches" does not sound all that tasty, but since it had 5 stars, I thought I would give it a shot. They were so delicious that my neighbor and I ate most of them before I had a chance to can them. Only ended up with one pint after we wiped out most of them. We ate them with a grilled steak, and it was a superb side dish for steak, however, I think it would be even better with sausage or pork.
Next year, I plan to make LOTS of these!

[Impera_Magna]

Made these yesterday and the one piece I tasted was great. The instructions were clear and easy to follow... I used pint jars instead of quart jars and got 4 pints and one half-pint. I will be making these again. Thanks for sharing the recipe.