Eastern European Pickled Peaches are wonderful as a side dish or condiment, and as a dessert. Before refrigeration, pickling was a common way of preserving eggs, meats, fruits and vegetables.
This recipe, adapted from Linda Ziedrich's "The Joy of Pickling" (The Harvard Common Press, 1998), uses the open-kettle method of canning as opposed to the boiling water-bath method, and it easily can be doubled or tripled.
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Makes 2 quarts of Pickled Peaches
This recipe, adapted from Linda Ziedrich's "The Joy of Pickling" (The Harvard Common Press, 1998), uses the open-kettle method of canning as opposed to the boiling water-bath method, and it easily can be doubled or tripled.
Click here for a larger image.
Makes 2 quarts of Pickled Peaches
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- Spice Sachet:
- 1/2 teaspoon blade mace
- 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, broken
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, sliced thinly
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
- 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
- .
- For Peaches:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 3/4 cups white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar
- 3 1/2 pounds small (no more than 2 inches in diameter) frim-ripe peaches, peeled
Preparation:
- In a 4-inch square of cheesecloth, tie the blade mace, cinnamon stick pieces, ginger, allspice and cloves, as you would for a stock sachet.
- In a large, nonreactive saucepan, combine the sugar, water, vinegar and sachet. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the peaches and simmer 3 minutes until they are heated through. Remove peaches from liquid with a slotted spoon and pack them into sterile, hot wide-mouth pint or quart canning jars.
- Boil the syrup until it thickens, about 8 minutes. Pour the hot syrup over the peaches. Open the sachet and equally divide the spices among the jars. Seal the jars with hot two-piece caps.
- Store cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least 1 month before eating the peaches.
Notes: Roll peeled peaches in a little lemon juice to keep them from turning brown while you peel. To achieve a good seal with the open-kettle method of canning, make sure your jars, lids and peaches are all quite hot.
