The ever changing art of home canning

I have been preserving food using the canning method since I was about eight years old. I learned from my Mother, Grandmother and Aunts. Some of my best memories were sitting around snapping beans to prep them for canning on the front porch at my Aunt Rosa's house. If you talk to a modern canner today everyone will have different ideas on how things should be done. Some are strict and follow only the guidelines set out by the FDA, some do their own thing, and some of us use a combination of tried and true recipes while trying to follow the rules of the FDA as well. My absolute bible on all things canning is the The Complete Ball Canning Guide. They not only have recipes, but tricks of the trade.

If you are looking for a healthy snack that will give you that just picked taste all year then look no further than Simply Serena's Sugar Free Peaches. Peaches are a wonderful, juicy and sweet fruit. There is no need to can them in a sugar syrup as most people suggest. I prefer them just the way nature intended. They are good on their own, in baked goods, or mixed in with yogurt or cottage cheese.

How to can peaches

1. Wash pint or quart jars in hot soapy water
2. Put lids and rings in simmering water on the stove to keep them warm
3. Start you hot water bath canner full of water to get it boiling
4. Choose peaches that are ripe but not squishy. 
5. Wash the peaches (Some people can them without skins, I do not. I think the skin has nutrients we do not want to miss out on. I will explain below how to skin the peaches for canning though) 
6. Dice, quarter or slice peaches to the size you desire. 
7. Pack peaches into hot jars leaving 1" headspace
8. Cover with boiling water leaving 1" headspace
9. Clean the rim of the jar so that it is free of debris and moisture
10. Place lid and tighten ring around jar
11. Process in hot water bath 10 Mins for Pints 15 mins for Quarts
12. Remove from canner and allow the lids to seal
13. If the lid can be pressed down it did not seal. Repeat step 11

To remove the skin from peaches, nectarines, tomatoes

1. Wash fruit gently
2. At the base of the fruit (non stem side) score a small X in the flesh of the fruit
3. Drop in boiling water for 15-30 seconds
4. Remove from boiling water and place in ice cold water instantly
5. Peel skin off of fruit from where the X had been placed 
6. Proceed with Steps from above

That is really all there is to it. Enjoy!