Kitchen Tip Tuesday - Just Peachy

I have a small list of items that I now only buy once a year and this list includes green beans, corn, tomato sauce and peaches.  I buy these items in their peak and preserve them by either canning or freezing them in bulk.   Next week I will talk about how to figure out how much fresh produce to buy to preserve to last your family a year.

Today, I am going to tell you the easiest way to freeze peaches that I have found through two years of canning and freezing peaches.  First off, peaches are time consuming, especially if you have a lot to do.  The easiest way to preserve them is to freeze them.  I canned a bunch last year but this year I’m just freezing them because I love them just barely thawed from the freezer.

To peel the peaches:

• Boil peaches for 30 seconds and then put them in cold water.
• Cut off peach slices with a sharp knife.  *Note:  I have tried a lot of different ways of pitting peaches and there just aren’t any really good ways.  This is the hardest part.  You can cut the peach in half and try separating it and pit the peaches that way but that only really works if the peaches are harder.
• The skin will usually slide right off, but if it doesn’t you can just freeze it with the skin on.  It won’t hurt you, and it still tastes good.

I drizzle the peach slices with honey and add a little lemon juice (2 tsp. or so per big bowl).    I then just dump several cups into a quart size freezer bag and lay it flat to squeeze out all the air out.  I lay the bags flat in the freezer to freeze.



To use:

• Thaw on the counter about 20 minutes before you intend to eat them.  They are best eaten soon after they thaw.
• You can use them in smoothies or make peach butter with them.
• You can also make peach crisp or peach pie.