Recently I was lucky enough to combine a trip to visit family in Connecticut with peach picking. Connecticut has very good peaches and I love when I can pick a few baskets. Last week I posted the amazing Peach Lavender Jam recipe. This week I will share the Peach Pie Filling that I made. This wonderful filling doesn’t only need to be used in pies; I’ve also used it in cobblers and crisps as well. I’m sure you can think of other ways to use it as well. I love preserving peaches, as the bright yellow color looks so cheery on your pantry shelves.
Both this recipe and the Peach Lavender Jam recipe came out of the book Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
Peach Pie Filling
Ingredients:
1 cinnamon stick (3” long) broken into pieces
2 tsp whole cloves
12 cups sliced, pitted peeled peaches, treated to prevent browning – drained
2 cups finely chopped cored peeled apples, treated to prevent browning – drained
2 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp grated lemon zest
½ cup lemon juice
¼ cup white vinegar
½ tsp ground nutmeg
Directions:
Tie the cinnamon stick pieces and cloves in a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag.
To remove the skins easily from the peaches drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds and immediately place in cold water.
In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine peaches, apples, sugar, raisins, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, nutmeg and spice bag. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids.
Ladle hot pie filling into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles and adjust headspace if necessary. Center lid on jar and screw band down to finger tight.
Place jars in canner; make sure they are covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.
Makes about 4-6 pints
Nancy on the Home Front 