Canning peaches OUT of the kitchen!

Fruit in the Kitchen
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Because its nicer to process in the kitchen without a fire in the stove, we did the actual canning of our peaches outside this year on a different stove.
We canned over 30 gallons of Redhaven peaches that came off of three trees.
Nothing but peaches, no water added, no sweetener either.

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Lots of peaches, and I didnt peel any!

Hubby and the older children sat around the kitchen table and peeled and sliced, our 7 yr old went back and forth delivering hot peaches, and her brother just older brought me flats and helped pull out the ripe ones. My job was dipping them in the hot water, and feeding the stove wood all day.

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The pan in the center is a 16 quart pot. The big pressure canner being used for the water bath holds 7 half gallon jars.
I also stirred peaches once they were sliced and ready to heat.

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We put boiling hot fruit into half gallon jars then put them in a water bath for 15 minutes.

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My Lord!

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It is the first time ever that I have gotten sunburned while canning! Lol :smile:

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I’ve been looking for a wood cook stove for over a year now, hard to find one in good shape. Looks like a great way to get your canning done!

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My husband grew up with the one in our kitchen, it could use some parts replaced where the thinner pieces of steel have burned out.
The one outside is fairly new, but I’m not as used to it.
They do work well for putting the food by. The main work my guys do is tree service, so there is never a shortage of wood.

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Fantastic!!! Bet it all smelled incredible!!

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Hey Mrs. G! I hope your move is going famously!
There was a lot of open air. I dont remember smelling the food much. I smelled smoke though.
I like the smell of the wood smoke on frosty mornings, but it was a bit much after stoking it out there. The stove pipe isn’t that high, and I got more smoke smell than peach smell sometimes.
What really smells good is baking bread. That never gets old.

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Amen, Sister! I made a half dozen loaves of whole grain today- just love the smell.

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Awesome! :smile:

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Wow, Jolene! Where did u find time to do this? How long did it take you to can them?

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I remember working on peaches three separate days, and there might have been more. This is a great example of many hands making light work. None of us were overwhelmed, and we enjoyed the project.

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Red Haven is still my favorite peach

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Redhaven are good peaches, no doubt. Here the Silver Logan is a favorite, as is the Summerset.

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Years ago i canned everything eg. Blackberries etc. In peach or apple juice. We seldom use sugar because we really dont need it. Grape juice is another thing i have trouble figuring out why anyone would add sugar to it. Thats a well organized plan you had going there! We need to get you a big floppy hat so you dont get sunburned! Those peaches are going to taste incredible! Pears are the sweetest of all but the juice is thick and cannot be used to can things by itself because its to thick.

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That’s gettin’ er done. Like the American canner in the the pic. They are built like a tank and never wear out.

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have you considered a simple propane burner setup? we have a two burner propane stove that was super cheap and it’s cheap to operate. spills hit the ground and it packs up and stores small.

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Its a great suggestion. :slight_smile:
We use wood because we have wood…mountains if it. My guys do tree service work and bring home a lot as a matter of course. We heat with wood, cook with wood, can with wood, and have a wood burning water heater hubby made over 7 years ago that could probably heat a swimming pool easily.
We also sell honest cords of mixed wood that is already split for 175 a cord picked up here.

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I’m looking to install a wood cook stove in our cabin to serve as both a source of heat as well as a cooking appliance, cook top and oven. But I do have a chicken fryer type burner for outside that works well for canning and which puts out more btu’s than my gas range. Gets a water bath up to temp in a hurry.

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In 2021 we canned 60 gallons of peaches and peach nectar (juice) off the same three Redhaven trees, all with nothing added. My hubby’s sweet secretary helped as did many of our children, and it took us about 6 days. We worked at a different location with air conditioning for those peeling and slicing, and we took turns scalding peaches and later processing the jars over the wood stove on the back porch.

Last year (2022) the freeze got everything.

This year a late frost basically thinned the peaches for us. Some trees only set a handful, but Redhaven is quite reliable and had a fairly full load with no tying up of limbs required and very little breakage. We ate peaches, made yummy shakes and peach upside-down cakes, froze all the damaged fruit after trimming it, and still canned ten and a half gallons.
The fruit was probably a full two weeks late, maybe three, because we were very slow warming up this year.

Some people tasted those peaches and said they tasted like heaven. They havent been spoiled by Snow Beauty (0 this year) and Silver Logan (a couple dozen) and Summerset (maybe 8 this year).
They were sweet, juicy, and had flavor. My new best friend got a shake she said she’d pay 15 bucks for! It was made with solid frozen vanilla gellato made with sheep milk, extra sheep milk, and frozen peaches…and it was super creamy!

Upsides of farm life is how good the food can be. Like our apple fattened aged beef from mature 4 year old steers. Everyone that’s tasted it said it was the best the ever had. Of course homegrown peaches and strawberries are nothing like store bought, and the turkey and dumplings last night for dinner just vanished with even the house guest (daughter’s fiance) who is particular going back for more!
Green beans had to be replanted this year because it was too cool when we first put them in, but now we are picking gallons every day and freezing them. Going to do some lacto fermented ones too. Canned come cucumber pickles and have some fermenting. Okra is coming off too, and taters, and the watermelon are sizing up. We have beets carrots and cabbage soon. Summer and winter squash.

Lots of mutton and lamb running around, and another beef aging in the cooler now …buying those sheep a few more weeks to eat.

Apples are coming off too. Holstein is yummy, and Zabergou, Golden Nugget, Gala is late this year. Its usually right behind Redhaven peaches giving us less then a week after canning peaches before we are doing applesauce. I like mixing some tangy with the sweet. One Honeycrisp tree is colored up and the one right next to it is completely green still.
Always something to make you scratch your head.

Calves coming end of Nov and mid Jan from our little Jerseys…and one calf we get back when she’s weaned that was born a few weeks ago. This is cute! And from a bull named Sure Shot Pendleton who is only 40 inches tall. The other cows are bred to the same bull.
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Just a quick update from here. Kids are growing up. We stay pretty busy. Life is sweet!

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Wow. What an amazing farm (and farmers!) I just read “Practical Self-Reliance” where she talks about her outdoor kitchen setup which is her system for canning that most people would be able to afford…unlike those glamorous kitchens you might see on Houzz. Here’s a link for people to get other ideas: Setting Up an Outdoor Canning Kitchen
There is actually an updated version where they put together a pergola kit that has a roof, but I cannot find it.

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