Peaches are in season! If you like peaches you probably have a favorite source – Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, etc. Missouri peaches are my favorite and they are plentiful right now. I enjoy freezing peaches to be able to use them in the middle of Winter. Somehow having those peaches on my cereal or on angelfood cake makes the Winter day seem much more tolerable.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation has detailed instructions on freezing peaches in a syrup pack or sugar pack along with freezing crushed or pureed peaches.
I have a favorite recipe for freezing peaches that I received from a friend many years ago and have been using it ever since. I am sharing it for anyone that is interested. For one lug of peaches you will need 2 cans of frozen orange juice, 4 cans of water, and 8 cups of sugar. Mix together the orange juice, water and sugar in a large bowl. Dip the peaches one at a time in boiling water for 30 seconds then plunge into cold water to make peeling much easier. Peel the peaches and slice into the orange juice solution. Fill your containers leaving ample head space for expansion during freezing.
If I could just freeze a whole peach as is for later enjoyment I would but since I cannot this is one way I can enjoy the delicious peach flavor all year long!
Sounds delicious Marsha! Thanks for sharing!
Nyla, thank you for the positive feedback.
What is a lug of peaches & what size can of o.j.?
Hi Barb, a lug of peaches depends upon the size of the peaches. There is usually a number on the box/shipping container. A size 60 lug holds 60 peaches; 40 lug holds 40 peaches. The larger the number, the smaller the peaches. In general, a lug, regardless of size, will make about 8+ quarts or 16-17 pints. Per Marcia, 12 oz cans of frozen orange juice.
Can I just skip the sugar?
Hi Kiernan, I assume you are freezing peaches. The sugar can be omitted but does protect the peaches from browning. See these two articles from the National Center for Home Food Preservation:
1) https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/preserving_peaches.html
2) https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/unsweet_pack.html
Thank you. That was a very fast answer and I appreciate that as I am working on the peaches this afternoon.