Flash Freezing Peaches

Flash frozen and ready to store in the freezer

It is peach season and they are so sweet and juicy right now the whole house smells wonderful from them.

I had bought a bushel on Thursday to can on Sunday.  The bushel had 31 peaches in it.  My children at 12 of them!!  YES 12!!!  So we had to run to the farmers market again on Saturday to get another bushel.

The farmers market is a great place to get low priced fresh vegetables and fruits.  There is a stand that sells cakes and of course the tween begged me to get a pound cake to try.  We are driving in the car and this is what I see:

She unwraps and bites the pound cake like a cookie and the boy in the back seat has somehow reached into the back and gotten himself a peach!!!

So guess no one else is going to eat that cake and if there is traffic I am going to have to head back to the market as the boy will surely get himself another 2, 3 or 5 peaches before we make it back over the bridge home!!

So I salvaged 27 peaches out of the bushels from Saturday until Sunday morning when I canned 9 jars (will put those in another post) and I flash froze 2 gallon size bags to use for peach cobbler, smoothies, and frozen treats later in the year. 

You can’t find a good peach in our area after October and by December they are not even in the stores.  It’s a wonderful feeling to pop open a can and have some of that summer goodness during a winter storm or relaxing by a cozy fire.  My children love them right out of the freezer bag letting them thaw just slightly.

Flash freezing helps to ensure your fruit will not stick together and become a big clumpy mess in the freezer.  You can pull out one peach or ten as they will stay individual.

lemon water

laid out ready to freeze

four hours fully frozen

Here is how I flash freeze the peaches:

Peel the peach and cut into slices (TIP on how to peel and slice peaches below)

Put the slices into a bowl of water with 1/4 cup of lemon juice (should be a large bowl).

Keep the sliced peaches in the lemon water until you are done slicing as many as you are going to freeze.  The lemon water will keep the peaches their beautiful yellowy red color and not let them brown.

Once they are all sliced line a cookie sheet with a heavy duty paper towel (I use Viva or Brawny as they hold up better).

Using a slotted spoon or your hand remove the peaches and lay them on the cookie sheet not touching eachother. 

Once they are all on the cookies sheets use another paper towel to pat them dry.

Place them in the freezer or at least 4 hours.

Remove them and they should be frozen through.  Remove them from the paper towel and place into a gallon freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 8 months. 

TIP FOR PEELING PEACHES

Slice the peach all the way around the middle

hold each end and twist until the top pops off

top has no pit, bottom as pit.  Peel them both

use knife to cut pit out

will look like this

Slice into size you want

Summer sweets all year long!!

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• canning
• cooking
• country living
• diet
• Farming
• food
• freezing
• fruit
• Healthy eating
• homesteading
• peaches