Canning Peach Pie Filling

Prepare lids and jars as usual for water bath canning.



Ingredients:

6 qts of sliced peaches

7 c. sugar

2 c. plus 3 T Clear Jel

5 1/4 c. cold water

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 3/4 c. lemon juice (plus lemon juice for soaking)



We had frozen a 25lb. box of peaches (we ended up using all of these for this recipe!) due to not having enough time to can them immediately. Rick had read about a neat trick to peel frozen peaches. I have to admit that I was skeptical, but it worked like a charm! Simply hold the peach under cold running water and rub gently. The skin comes right off!



After peeling, simply slice to the size you want for your pie filling, and remove pits. Soak sliced peaches in water and lemon juice (or a product like Fruit Fresh) to keep them from turning brown. I use a solution of 1 T of lemon juice per cup of water.



Combine water, sugar, Clear Jel and cinnamon into a large kettle. Stir and cook over medium high heat until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble.



Add lemon juice and boil for one minute more, stirring constantly.



Add in drained peaches, and heat mixture for three minutes. (Note- I had to change kettles due to a slight miscalculation on the size I'd need. Oops!)



Fill hot jars, leaving one inch of headspace. Gently tap jars to remove air bubbles. Wipe the top of jars with a damp cloth to clean, and then place lids and rings on the jars.



Process for 30 minutes in a water bath canner.



The final result is a delicious peach pie filling that will be such a blessing all Winter through!



**From the half bushel that we used for this recipe, we yielded 8 qts. of pie filling. **