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My Favorite Peach Pie Filling Recipe
If you're looking for an easy peach pie filling recipe, you've come to the right place. I love peach pie as much as anyone...but I don't like buying it at the store. That's why I love making my own pie fillings. Of course, they take a bit of work at the beginning, but once you get past the peeling, chopping, and sticki-ness of the whole project, you've got rows and rows of beautifully canned fillings. From there, it's incredibly easy to put a pie together ~ and incredibly healthy, too! Create a family favorite My dad loves pies. They're one of his all-time favorite desserts. Even though he loves chocolate, there's something about a light, fruity pie bursting with juice that's just refreshing. Unfortunately, the more pies we made, the faster we realized that store-bought pie fillings were becoming ridiculously expensive! Not long after, we began making our own homemade pie fillings. And we discovered that not only are they really easy to make, they're just as good (if not better) than the store-bought stuff. And now it's all we use.
The best peach pie filling recipe - start making it!Okay - ready to start making your own peach pie filling? Grab your peaches and let's get started. For this recipe, which makes 7 quarts, you'll need 6 quarts of peaches. 1. Blanch your peaches. Blanching basically takes the place of peeling; by boiling them and then plunging them into ice, the skins will almost fall off themselves! Start by boiling your water first. Then drop your peaches in and set the timer for no longer than a minute. Immediately remove the peaches and place them in very cold ice water (with ice cubes floating in it). Let them sit for a minute or so, and then start pulling the skins off.
2. Slice your peaches. This is dependant on your preference here; how big do you like your peaches in pies? I personally like small chunks, but my dad loves big chunky things, so we slice BIG. 3. In a large pot, mix: 5 1/4 c. cold water **NOTE: Clear jel is not the same as Sure-jel. Clear jel is modified corn starch; but you cannot use corn starch in place of clear jel. Most grocery stores should carry clear jel. 4. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, but stir constantly! Mixtures like these burn very easily if you don't keep a close eye on them. Constantly scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to prevent burning or scorching.
5. Once your mixture is at a boil and is thick, add your peaches and mix well. Remove from heat immediatly. The mixture will look cloudy; but this will go away after you've finished canning it. 6. Pour mixture into hot, sterilized canning jars. Large emphasis here on hot. If your jars are not truly hot, you run the risk of them actually breaking. Boiling mixture in a cold jar is not a safe combination. You can heat your jars by running them through the dishwasher and then using them immediatly, or pouring hot water in each of them ahead of time.
Click here for more information on canning jars.
Even if you use a funnel, you are bound to leave some sticky residue on the rims of your jars, and this will interfere with lid sealing later on. Take a damp paper towel or rag (make sure it's clean!) and wipe the rims several times. Air dry or wipe dry before placing the lids on the top. 9. Place your jars in a water-bath canner. Process for 30 minutes as a base-line; but adjust your processing time from here for your specific altitude.
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For more specific instructions on canning, click here.
And then? Try not to open a jar. Because you'll want to! |
8. Attach lids and rings. If you prefer washing your lids ahead of time, that's fine; I don't because they're right out of the package brand new and really aren't dirty.