CANNING FRESH PEACH PIE FILLING

I love fresh peaches!  I also love peach pie!  Both fresh peach pie and cooked peach pie. 

So, since it is now summertime and fresh peaches are available I thought I would can some peach pie filling. 

It's so good to have these on hand.  You can quickly make a homemade pie by just dumping one of these jars into a pie crust.  Bake it and you have a wonderful pie.

I am not going to lie, it does take a little while to make these because you have to peel all the peaches and cut them up.  But, the good news is, you can make one jar at a time if you like.  Or you can make up to 7 batches at time.  Heck, you could even make more at a time if you have a big enough pot.

Here is the recipe if you would like to can some for yourself.

                                                    PEACH PIE FILLING

                                                1 Quart                       7 Quarts

Sliced fresh peaches         3-1/2 cups                       6 quarts

Granulated sugar             1 cup                                 7 cups

Clear Jel®                          1/4 cup + 1 tbsp              2 cups + 3 tbsp

Cold water                         3/4 cup                              5-1/4 cups

Cinnamon (optional)       1/8 tsp                               1 tsp

Almond extract (optional)   1/8 tsp                            1 tsp

Bottled lemon juice             1/4 cup                            1-3/4 cups

Start off by getting all your jars ready.  Clean, sterilized and kept hot.  Don't forget to have your seals warmed up by putting them in hot water.  Not boiling water, just simmering.

Peel your peaches.  You can do this by putting the peaches in boiling water for about a minute and then putting them right into cold ice water.  The skins will then come off very easy.

I just peeled mine by hand with a peeler.  Be careful and don't yourself like I did.

Then cut up the peaches to size you want.  I cut mine up into about 1/2 inch slices.

Put the peaches in lemon water so they don't turn brown.

In a pot bring water, sugar, Sure Jel and if desired cinnamon and almond extract.  Stir over medium heat until it starts to thicken up and boils.  Stir in lemon juice and boil for 1 minute more.  Be sure to continue to stir the whole time.

Stir in drained peaches and cook for 3 more minutes. 

Fill your hot quart size jars, leaving 1 inch head space.  Wipe the rim, add your lids and rims. 

Place in a water bath canner and process for 20 minutes.

When you take them out of the water bath they may still be bubbling.  That is normal. 

Also, the clear jel may not be clear when you first cook it but it will be clear when it comes out of the water bath.

Let cool over night.  Make sure the lids are sealed.

The recipe above shows the amounts for 1 quart or 7 quarts.  You can make any amounts in between by multiplying the amounts for 1 quart by how ever many quarts you are going to make.