Peaches Come From a Can (They Were Put There by a Man)
Except it wasn't at a factory downtown, it was in my kitchen!
We got an instant pot on the last Prime Day, it was a crazy good price, I had looked into it a couple of times before, but just couldn't stomach the regular price! I love the fact that I no longer need other small kitchen appliances since the instant pot is a Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Saute/Browning, Yogurt Maker, Steamer & Warmer! and BONUS! you can use it to water bath can!
Our peach tree was ripe for the picking and I couldn't wait to use the instant pot to can, but I wasn't exactly sure how to proceed since it's not exactly like traditional water bath canning. I searched high and low for a "how to can peaches in an instant pot" tutorial but came up with nada. But - no worries! I pressed forward. Ready to can?
You'll need:
Peaches (duh)
Sugar
Lid Lifter (basically a magnet on a stick)
Large Slotted Spoon
Large Pot
Jars (the instant pot can fit four pint size jars)
Lids and Rings
(Most stores will sell the jars, lids and rings as a set, but you can get them them cheaper buying the jars at yard sales or through classifieds and just purchasing lids and rings separately.)
Prepare the jars, lids and rings. To prepare the jars they need to be washed and sterilized and kept at a hot temperature. What I do is put the jars and rings in the dishwasher on a sterilize cycle. I put the lids in a small pan and heat to a boil, then lower to warm.
First thing you want to do is peel the peaches. A fast way to do this is to boil some water and add the peaches to the boiling water for 3 minutes. Then put the peaches in an ice bath. I filled up one side of our sink with cold water and ice and plunged the peaches there. You'll want to do that for all the peaches. They are fine to sit in the ice water until you move onto the next step.
Once all the peaches have had their hot tub and ice bath, the peach skins should slide right off. It's weirdly satisfying to have the peach peel slide right off, anyone else like this? The peaches look delicious peeled!
Cut down the 'crack' of the peach and the peach easily separates into halves. If you're not sure what I mean by the crack of the peach, check out this picture:
If your peaches don't easily split into halves, you might have what's called clingstone peaches. These peaches 'cling' onto the pit and make it really difficult to get all the fruit. If this is the case, you can slice the peach around the pit and still get a good amount of fruit. Remove the pit, now slice the peaches into whatever shape you like; halved, quartered, cubes, etc. it really doesn't matter. I put the peaches into a bowl and sprinkled some Fruit Fresh to keep them from browning.
Combine 5 cups of water and 3 1/4 C. sugar in the large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stir until sugar dissolves, making a syrup. Reduce heat to low and keep warm. Now add the peaches to the syrup and heat through, for about a minute.
Using the jar funnel, scoop the peaches with the slotted spoon and add to the sterilized jars, to 1/2 inch headspace. Fill the remaining three jars with warmed peaches. Now use a ladle and add syrup to each jar to the same 1/2 inch headspace, or if you're like me just pour the syrup directly from the pot!
I love my jar funnel because it has the headspace listed right on the funnel, so it's easy to see if I need more or less. Once you've determined you're at the right headspace, remove the funnel and using a knife, slide between the jars and peaches to remove any air bubbles. Once the air bubbles are removed, check the headspace again and add any needed syrup. Remove the funnel and clean the rim with a wet paper towel.
Now using the lid lifter, place a lid on the top of each jar and screw on the rings. Add to the instant pot now. I use the rack that came with the instant pot, placed upside down.
Now, here's where it gets a little different from traditional water bath canning: you don't need to add water over the top of the jar lids. I added 4 cups of water to the instant pot and splashed water on top of the lids. But, if you're more comfortable, you can fill the instant pot to the max fill line which just reaches the top of the jars. I've canned peaches in the instant pot both ways, and the jars sealed both times.
Put the lid on the instant pot, making sure the valve is turned to seal, not vent. Hit the steam button and set the time to 20 minutes. FYI - It takes longer than 20 minutes for the instant pot to get to pressure AND once the 20 minutes are up, I let the jars stay in for another 5 minutes while the pressure releases naturally. At that point I release the pressure manually by switching the valve to vent. I don't mind the time though because I don't have to stand there watching the pot, I'm free to do whatever I want, which was finish watching Batman vs. Superman!
Once the pressure is low enough to remove the lid, use your jar grabber to remove the jars from the instant pot and place on a towel to rest for 24 hours. Once the jars are cool, check the seal by pressing down on the lid. If it doesn't move, then you have a good seal. If the lid does move, then pop the jar in the fridge and enjoy sooner rather than later!
