We are ending the week full of peaches, but I have some tips for freezing peaches!

When you have lots of extra peaches, it’s great to freeze them and then use them for  smoothies or even peach syrup. Cut them in half, remove the pit, and cut the halves in half. Don’t take the skin off. I know what you’re saying “But I don’t want those fuzzy peach skins!”

I know, but wait…here’s an awesome trick I learned from my grandma!

Before we get to the trick, put your cut peaches on a baking sheet, and freeze them this way.

Once frozen, remove them from the tray and put them in a freezer baggie. If you freeze them on the cookie sheet first, they won’t stick together in the bag.

Now here’s the trick: when you are ready to use them, take a peach piece and RUN IT UNDER WATER….the fuzzy peach skin will slide right off!!

Awesome, huh?! I know, I wasn’t sure if I should believe my grandma, but we tried it and it works! Only the skins slide off, so you use more of the peach, which is fantastic. (this is my husband’s hand…demonstrating the trick for you)

Simple. And ready for a smoothie. 🙂 So try this trick and let me know what you think!

Homemade Peach jam is one of life’s best! And it lends itself well to this time of year…with that beautiful orange/peach color! In honor of Peach Week and Halloween…how about some Peach Jam Halloween Style?!

I’ve made a lot of peach jam in my life. And the BEST jam that always turns out is the one using SureJell. My recipe I share today is the one I love the most using that pectin, which can be found at most grocery stores.

Start out getting all your ingredients together:

4 cups Diced peaches (I used about 5 large peaches), 2 T. lemon juice, 5 1/2 c. sugar, 1 box Sure Jell pectin (not pictured).

I like to dice my peaches in a large dice…I find that the peaches cook down enough to make delicious jam, but still leave a few fresh peach bits in the jam. That’s the way I like it. But you can cut your peaches smaller if you prefer a smoother jam.

Have your jars ready to go. I sterilized mine the day before in the dishwasher…here they are clean and dry and ready to go.

Also get your lids ready by boiling some water, then put the lids in and turn the heat to warm. Keep them warm while you are making the jam.

See that magnet that I’m getting the lid out of the hot water with? That little tool is SO valuable and I got it years ago in a canning kit. It makes getting those lids out so much easier!

Now, let’s get that jam cooking! Put the diced peaches, lemon juice, and Sure Jell pectin in a large pan. Stir continually until it comes to a full rolling boil (it still bubbles even when you are stirring). This will take a few minutes. You will see that the peaches start breaking down during this process.

After it reaches that full boil, add the sugar quickly and stir. Cook until it comes to a full boil again…then cook at this boil for a full minute. I set the timer to make sure it’s fully cooked.

Now it’s ready to jar! Spoon it into your jars using a wide-mouth funnel. Fill the jars up all the way to the top (leaving about 1/8″). Get a lid out from the hot water, dry it off and place it on the filled jar. Add the bands. And process them according to the instructions in the pectin box. (This depends upon your altitude, etc.)

Isn’t it beautiful?!

There’s nothing better than homemade peach jam served on homemade bread! And wrapping them up with some orange ribbon and Halloween spiderweb fabric (from JoAnn’s) is the perfect neighbor/friend gift! Have you ever made homemade peach jam before?