Learn how to can peaches with syrup, honey or without any sugar at all and then sit back and enjoy your labor of love all year long!
Canning is such a great way of preserving food to enjoy over the long haul. Â Buy your produce locally when it’s in season, can it and then you can enjoy it all the year round. Â Canned peaches are an especially wonderful treat, whether you’re enjoying them straight out of the bottle, cutting them up into a fruit salad or baking with them.
There are a variety of approaches you can take to canning peaches whether it’s using the hot pack or cold pack version or making them with or without sugar or with a natural sweetener. Â The choice is yours!
If you want to can peaches using sugar you have the option of making a syrup to whichever degree of sweetness you prefer.  A heavy syrup will typically be a ratio of  about 6 1/2 cups of sugar to 10 cups of water.  A medium syrup calls for about 4 1/2 cups of sugar to 10 cups of water.  A light syrup will use about 2 cups of sugar for 10 cups of water.  And you can go either heavier or lighter on each end of the spectrum.
To make a syrup you simply combine the water and sugar in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Â Let the sugar dissolve completely.
You’ll follow the same procedure if you’re making a syrup with honey. Â I like to use honey because it avoids the use of processed sugar and I’m only using just enough to preserve the color and enhance the flavor. Â So I make a very light honey syrup using just 1/2 cup of honey per 12 cups of water. Â And then I add 1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice to each quart jar to help further preserve the color.
If you prefer to avoid any kind of sugar altogether you can do that as well. Â Peaches can be canned without sugar, their natural acidity is high enough, but they will discolor and their flavor will deteriorate. Â However, if you opt to can them without any sugar they are perfectly safe to eat.
Hot-packing means adding the fruit to the lightly boiling syrup, returning it to a boil and then immediately pouring the contents into jars. Â (If you’re not using any sugar you would simple boil the fruit in water.)
Raw-packing skips the step of boiling the fruit and with this method you pack the fruit into the jars and then pour the hot syrup over it.  It’s generally considered most suitable for making things like pickles where you’re wanting to retain some crispness.  It’s also used for processing things in a pressure canner since that already requires a long cooking time.
Comparing fruit that has been hot-packed versus raw-packed, over time the hot-packed fruit both retains its color better and has a better flavor.
So to summarize the general guideline is this:
Hot-pack Method: Â Use this if you’re canning high-acid foods that you’ll be processing using the water bath method.
Raw-pack Method: Â Use this if you’re making pickles or canning vegetables that need to be processed in a pressure canner.
I’m going to make about 5 quarts of canned peaches in a very light honey syrup. Â You can increase or decrease the number of quarts you want to can, just tweak the sugar or honey-to-water ratio accordingly. Â
**And remember, none of this has to be exact, it’s all strictly personal preference because the peaches don’t have to have any sweetener at all to be safe. Â So don’t worry about not getting the ratio “right.” Â Simply taste the syrup and decide if you want it sweeter or not.
Select ripe but firm peaches otherwise they’ll get very mushy once canned.
The best way to peel peaches is to briefly blanch them in boiling water for about 45 seconds – the peels will slip off easily.
Next cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Â Cut out most of the red interior (otherwise it will become really discolored after a while).
You can either leave the peaches in halves and can them or cut them into slices, whichever you prefer.
Place the peaches in the lightly boiling syrup. Â Return to a boil then turn off the burner. Â Some people will boil the peaches for a few minutes but I don’t because they’re going to boil in the water bath canner.
Immediately ladle the hot contents into sterilized jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace from the top of the jar.
Air pockets/bubbles will form in the bottle which will compromise the end result of your canned peaches. Â To remove the bubbles take a butter knife and move it around between the peaches and jar.
To help further preserve the color you can add ascorbic or citric acid but I prefer just to use a little lemon juice.  Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons in each quart jar. Half that amount for pint size jars.
Put the lids on the jars and process them in a water bath canner for 25 minutes for quart size jars and 20 minutes for pint size jars. That time will vary depending on elevation. See chart below from the National Center for Home Food Preservation:
Remove the jars and leave them on the counter untouched for 24 hours before moving them to a dark, cool place for long-term storage.
Enjoy your peaches all year round!
Bertha Pace says
You made this so easy to understand. So simple the way you said it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m glad you found this helpful, Bertha, thank you!
Terri says
Terri here, missed the reply notification button on by last comment!
Terri says
Do these same concepts apply to canning orange slices? Want to make Balls orange slices in honey syrup but don’t want the sugar. Any information would be helpful.
Sally Peters says
Thank you for all of your very helpful information. I will be canning peaches this week and pears within a few days of finishing the peaches.
Minky says
We’re new canners and have found only a handful of low/no sugar recipes. We’ve found some wonderful jam recipes, but not much else. I’m thrilled to have found your site…finally several lovely low sugar recipes, to expand our choices, yay! Thank you :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Minky, I’m thrilled you found our site – welcome!
Barbara Macey says
I grew up with a mother & grand mother who canned anything that stood still for 1 minute; this Canned Peach recipe is well done & should be printed & added to our recipe holders the country over.
However, that being said, I no longer can very much with the exception of canned tomatoes & see last statement below . I now flash freeze most everything, including Peaches, I add Lemon Juice before flash freezing Peaches & after they’ve frozen add them to a FOOD SAVER Bag, lay flat on a 1/2 Half Sheet Pan & freeze. By using a 1/2 Half Sheet Pan you will be able to stack them evenly in the freezer.
(Kimberly, I used your canning recipes for Homemade Sweet Pickle Relish & Pickled Beets. My daughter said the Beets look like jewels. Thank you for being dependable & for sharing GOOD STUFF!)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Barbara, I really appreciate that :) Speaking of canning tomatoes, I have a bulk order I’m picking up this Saturday – 50 pounds of tomatoes! I’ll be busy canning tomato sauce for a while ;) I do a ton of flash freezing as well, mostly for fruits and berries that we use in our daily smoothies. We have two chest freezers and an extra refrigerator freezer in our pantry that are all packed to the gills! What I really want to start doing is dry-freezing and am just working on convincing myself to spend the $$$ to buy a dry freezer machine.
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic says
I’ve been canning for years, so I must say that this is a very informative post. Good job! I’d love to can peaches this year.
Jen @ The Weary Chef says
This is brilliant! I love to learn canning and this is a great start!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I’ve really wanted to get into canning but I just haven’t taken the time to learn! Thank you so much for this!
Maryanne | the little epicurean says
This is super helpful and informative! I’ll have to come back once I’m ready to can!
Meg @ With Salt and Wit says
I can have peaches all year now! Sweet!
Sandi (@fearless_dining) says
I love your step by step directions for canning. I have always wanted to try this.
Michelle De La Cerda says
I didn’t know you could can without any type of sugar added. Great to know!
Adina says
Great post, I didn’t know these things.
Kim Beaulieu says
This is so helpful. I’ve wanted to can peaches so many times and I’m always afraid to do it. I’ve done them once but I was so paranoid about whether I did it right I was scared to eat them. Isn’t that awful? I’m so thrilled to have a how to to help next time. No more wasting good peaches.