BH Sale Alert: Peaches at Sprouts

Sprouts has peaches for $0.39/pound this week!

Their flyer made me want to be all domestic and stuff...

Today I bought 50 pounds of peaches for $19 and decided to freeze some and dry the others.

Drying/Dehydrating Peaches

Step 1: Blanch peaches (aka, put them in boiling water for 1 minute).

Step 2: Drop them in a cold water bath for a few seconds.

Step 3: Peel the peaches.

Step 4: Cut peaches into uniform slices (1/2 inch).

Step 5: Pretreat by dipping (aka, soak in a solution of 1 T lemon juice to 1 qt water for no more than 10 minutes).

Step 6: Spread on a baking sheet and place in a 130 F oven for several hours, until they are pliable and have no moisture pockets.

Freezing Fresh Peaches

Step 1: Wash peaches in several changes of cold water and peel peaches by hand.

Step 2: Mix 2/3 C sugar with 1/4 t lemon juice (enough for 1-2 qts sliced peaches).

Step 3: Pit and slice peaches; place in a bowl, sprinkling with sugar/lemon juice mixture occasionally.

Step 4: Allow peaches to stand until sugar is dissolved (about 10 min).

Step 5: Place in freezer bags, seal, label, and freeze.

Tips:

• Choose ripe, but firm peaches. If they are too ripe, they are hard to work with. Too firm, and they won't taste good.
• Invite a friend. The work goes faster and is more fun with someone else in the kitchen.
• Freezing is the way to go. If you want simple and fast, skip the drying. The freezing method took me about half the time. The peaches I'm trying to dehydrate are still in the oven as we speak. Apparently, it takes 10-15 hours.
• Interested in canning peaches? Check my friend's blog for a demo.
• Enlist your children to help. My 2-yr-old peeled off the stickers on the peaches. My 4-yr-old washed the peaches. The older three peeled and sliced the peaches. It was great to have any extra help.