Peach canning season is in full swing!

8/15/18 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Last week I was out at Detering Orchards in Harrisburg to pick up some peaches for canning. Just one box of peaches and a few ears of corn for dinner. The lady being checked out ahead of me was a different story. She had big boxes and bags of berries, green beans, peaches, plums and everything else that wasn’t nailed down. It took two shopping carts to get her inventory to the car. Obviously, she had a big family or was just a serious canner.

I am a selectively lazy canner. Canning is hard work and I do as little as possible. Pioneer women were amazing. There were no grocery stores to run to for a can of pears if you didn’t put them up the previous summer They were smart, thrifty and tired after working together to process hundreds of cans of meat, fruit and vegetables. We are so blessed.

I learned to can (in jars) back in the late 1970s thanks to my neighbor Sallie in Ventura, Calif. She and Jim were married at the turn of 20^th century and lived for awhile in a sod hut in Texas. Talk about pioneers! Later, they moved to different cities because of Jim’s job as an engineer with Kaiser Gypsum plants. But everywhere they moved, Sallie canned. And when they got to Calif. she taught me how to “put up” tomatoes, apricots, apples, peaches, green beans and more.

Fortunately, my husband Chuck has always been willing to help. At the end of a long day at our restaurant, when we were both pooped, we began canning together. At that time, rural Ventura was surrounded with fields and orchards so produce was readily available. Somehow, my hubby always found time to grow tomatoes and I purchased fruit and veggies from local stands.

My first canning project was a disaster. Deep in a nearby canyon was a U-pick apricot orchard. One hot summer day after work, we picked several bags of dead-ripe apricots. By the time, we got home they smelled wonderful. Inside the bags, they were hot, squished together and unusable. Note to self: Do not pick dead-ripe fruit!

So far this summer I have put-up frozen strawberry jam, blueberries, peaches and green beans. There’s only two of us eating at home most of the time, so my inventory is small. I seldom put up more than 36 jars of anything. Still, it’s work. This year I decided to not wait for the freestone peaches but to go with the semi-cling Suncrest peaches. Note to self: next year go with the freestone.

Now, if you’re not a canner...Do not despair. I freeze my blueberries and sometimes a few peaches in a sugar mix. They keep well. The following recipes are for pies that I picked up from Detering’s years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Detering are gone now, but the family carries on the business and her recipes are timeless. I especially like her suggestions on how to combine peaches with other fruits. Be sure and check out the easy turnover recipe. Enjoy!

MARIES’S EVERYDAY FRESH PEACH PIE

5 cups sliced fresh peaches (about 8 medium size)

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of salt

1 tablespoon butter, cut into bits

Pastry for two=crust 9-inch pie

1 teaspoon sugar (to top pie crust)

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Mix first 7 ingredients. Line 9-inch pie pan with pastry. Pour in peach mixture. Cover with top crust. Seal, flute, prick with fork. Brush lightly with cold water. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake on lowest rack in oven for 40-50 minutes.

Peach Pie Variations

Peach Strawberry Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches and 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved. Use ¼ teaspoon almond extract instead of cinnamon.

Peach Dark Berry Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches and 2 cups blueberries or black berries.

Peach Apple Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches and 2 cups apples.

Peach Pear Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches ad 2 cups sliced pears.

DIANE’S FRESH PEACH TURNOVERS
(Recipe as found

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Filling:

3 cups sliced peaches with the juice drained off

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon together. Pour over peaches, gently mix all together and set aside.

Crust:

Sift together:

2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt

Mix well and stir into flour mixture:

3/4 cup shortening, 1 egg yolk and 1/2 cup hot water

Cut crust into 5-inch squares ¼ inch thick. Put on pan and add as much filling as needed. Fold crust to a triangle. Press edges together. Bake 40 min. After cooked you may pour icing over them. Makes 7-9 turnovers.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner

 Contact her email at bchatty@betty Kaiser.com

-->