How to freeze peaches

Having grown up in Michigan, I have fond memories of delicious summer produce. We'd stop by roadside stands on our way to the lake to pick up blueberries, sweet corn, and whatever else was being harvested at the time. When we moved to Colorado I quickly noticed a difference in the produce available. While Colorado has many wonderful attributes, an ideal climate for growing fruits and vegetables isn't one of them. That being said, I have discovered the Palisade peaches of Colorado are unrivaled in tastiness. I look forward to ordering a bunch of peaches each August to prepare for freezing. [We do, of course, enjoy plenty of the peaches while they're fresh!] With a well-stocked freezer of peaches, we're able to enjoy pies, coffee cakes, cobblers, desserts, etc. all through the winter months.

If you'd like to freeze some peaches of your own, here's how we do it!

You'll need:

Peaches
quart-sized freezer bags
lime juice
sugar

1. Freezing peaches is a messy business. Might I suggest some great music to accompany your work? I listened to O Sister 2 and Appalachian Hymns.

2. Begin by making a simple sugar syrup. I start by heating 9 cups of water on the stove. I slowly add 3 cups of sugar until it dissolves, then I remove the pan from the heat. There's no need to boil this, just be sure the sugar has all dissolved. I was able to use this amount to freeze approximately 30 or 35 peaches.

3. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring it to a boil.

4. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare an ice-bath for the peaches. I fill my largest bowl with ice-water.

5. When the bowl is filled with ice-water, I submerge a large colander right in the ice. I have found this to be an easy way to get the peaches into an ice-bath without having to fish them out from the actual ice.

6. When the water has come to a boil, place 5 or 6 peaches into the water for 30 seconds.

7. After 30 seconds, use a slotted spoon to remove the peaches from the boiling water.

8. Place the peaches directly into the ice-bath.

9. After the peaches have sat in the ice-bath for a minute or so, the skin should peal right off, leaving nice and slippery peaches ready for freezing!

10. Slice up the peaches and sprinkle them with a bit of lemon juice.

11. I like to line a 2-cup pyrex measuring cup with a quart-sized freezer bag. Using a measuring cup, I scoop 2 cups of peaches into the bag. I've found that many of my peach recipes call for either 2 or 4 cups of peaches. This makes it easy to thaw out the exact amount I need at any given time.

12. Ladle the sugar water over the peaches, just covering them in the liquid.

13. This is about how much liquid I put in each bag. When I squeeze the air out of the bag, the liquid ends up covering the peach slices completely.

14. Label each bag with the amount and the date. You might think you'll never forget what's in each bag, but I always do!

15. Just for fun...have you ever seen the inside of a peach pit? Now you have!

I'd love to know if you have any favorite peach recipes. I'm taking a risk tonight and making a new cobbler recipe for company. [Yikes!] If it doesn't turn out, I've got homemade chocolate chip cookies and ice-cream on hand. *wink*

Enjoy your weekend. We've heard word that August 2 is en route. Maybe she'll arrive sometime this weekend!