Remove jars from canner with a jar lifter and place on a towel or rack. Finish cooling and storing as directed in processing in a boiling water canner above. To avoid floating fruit, start with firm, ripe fruit. Heat fruit before packing and use a light to medium syrup. Pack fruit as closely as possible without crushing. Follow directions for processing times. Prepared by Martha Zepp, extension project assistant; Andy Hirneisen, senior food safety educator; and Luke LaBorde, professor of food science.
Let's Stay Connected. By entering your email, you consent to receive communications from Penn State Extension. View our privacy policy. Thank you for your submission! Let's Preserve: Peaches, Apricots, Nectarines. Find the best varieties of fruit to choose when canning or freezing, plus learn the proper techniques for successful preservation. Photo credit: Bigstock. Quantity A bushel of nectarines or peaches weighs 48 pounds and yields 16 to 24 quarts.
Quality Choose ripe, mature fruit of a quality suitable for eating fresh. Preparation Dip peaches optional for apricots in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins loosen. Freezing Procedure Don't freeze more than 2 pounds of food per cubic foot of freezer capacity per day.
Canning Procedure Wash jars. To Make a Hot Pack Place drained fruit in boiling syrup, juice, or water and bring to a boil. To Make a Raw Pack To make a raw pack, fill jars with raw fruit, cut side down, and add hot water, juice, or syrup. To Process in an Atmospheric Steam Canner Preheat the base of a steam canner that has been filled with the amount of water designated in the instruction manual that comes with the canner usually about 2 quarts.
To Process in a Pressure Canner Place jar rack, 2 inches of water, and sealed jars in canner. Floating Fruit To avoid floating fruit, start with firm, ripe fruit. Table 1. Recommended process times in a boiling water canner at designated altitudes. By freezing nectarines, you can stretch their shelf life and prevent waste!
Apart from enjoying fresh nectarines, you can also freeze the fruit for baking and cooking. You can make jams, marmalades, smoothies, and other treats using this stone fruit. When kept in the freezer, nectarines will keep fresh up to 3 to 4 months. Fully ripened nectarines will only keep fresh for 3 to 5 days in the fridge. Do not chill unripe nectarines in the fridge.
The cold temps will stop the fruit from being fully ripe. Below is a step-by-step guide on how can you freeze nectarines:. If you have whole, ripened nectarines, you can freeze them as is, unwashed and uncut. To do this, simply get a large rigid plastic container and place the fruits inside. It's the perfect solution for those times when you over-do it at the market and come home with way more cherries or peaches or strawberries than you're going to be able to eat in a timely, before-the-fruit-rots manner.
It works similarly well to the glut that tends to occur post-u-pick visits and as a response to overly generous gifts from friends with prolific gardens. Whether you're freezing berries or freezing cherries , freezing peaches or freezing plums, the principle is the same and it's a breeze; just follow these three simple steps. All fruit needs to be rinsed clean and patted dry before freezing. Some fruits will fair best with a bit more preparation, such as peeling.
Specifics for a few common fruits:. Lay the prepared fruit in a single layer on a large baking sheet or pan make sure it fits flat in your freezer first! You can line the pan with parchment paper , waxed paper, or aluminum foil if you like.
Make sure the fruit isn't crowded and the pieces are touching as little as possible. Put the fruit-laden sheet, flat, in the freezer until the fruit is frozen solid. Choose ripe, mature fruit.
They should not be mushy, but they also should not be rock hard: just as ripe as you would eat them fresh. Green, unripe peaches will soften but will not ripen, nor have the flavor of tree-ripe peaches. After this step, I'll just refer to "peaches" but it applies to plums, cherries and nectarines. Step 2 - How many peaches and where to get them You can pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store. It takes about 5 good sizes peaches or nectarines or about 10 plums to make one quart or frozen peaches.
Step 3 - Prepare the sugar or other sweetener solution Peaches must be packed in a solution of water and sugar or fruit juice. It's up to you which to use. Sugar is added to improve flavor, help stabilize color, and retain the shape of the fruit.
You only need enough solution to cover the peaches; about 1 cup per quart. It is not added as a preservative; but the solution does prevent drying, freezer burn and oxidation browning. Peach, white grape or apple juice works great and is a natural alternative to using processed sugar! Fruit juice syrup requires no preparation. To prepare sugar and Stevia in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you'll need do your own conversion - or Splenda, if you prefer, syrups, while heating the water in a pot on the stove or microwave , add sugar slowly, stirring constantly to dissolve.
Once it is dissolved remove it from the heat. After preparing the liquid syrup, let it cool before mixing it with the peaches! I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the peaches in plain cold or lukewarm water. Nope, we're not going to peel them by hand; that's way too much work. Instead, here's a great trick that works with many fruits and vegetables with skins like tomatoes : just dip the fruit in boiling water for 20 to 45 seconds. Best to let the peaches soften for a day or two first!
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