A Southern Granny on Preserving Summer Fruits

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Summer has finally arrived, and with it comes a bounty of fruits. We recently visited Gregg Farms in Concord, Georgia, to pick peaches, blackberries, and blueberries. When I was young, my papa would take me to Gregg Farms.

This week, bringing Jackson and Lucy to the farm brought back many sweet memories of adventures with my grandfather. After being at home a few days with the peaches, many were beginning to over-ripen. My grandmother suggested that we “preserve” what we had left.

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Many people believing that preserving summer fruits is hard work. However, when asking my grandmother about preparing these delicious delicacies to enjoy later in the year, she explained that the process was not complicated when she was growing up. People, I want to share the simplicity and excitement of making preserves from summer fruits with you today.

Although we will be making peach preserves today, my grandmother preserved blackberries earlier in the day using the same process. The method can be used on pears, figs, blackberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and strawberries.

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Lucy helped my grandmother make the peach preserves. When working with preserves and jellies, wear “house” clothes. Many berries can stain your good garments.

A tip to know is that for peaches to ripen off the tree, they cannot touch each other. The touch will quickly turn to rot. Instead, spread any unripe peaches out, and they will ripen perfectly.

The riper the peach, the sweeter the taste, and you will need less sugar to sweeten the preserves. If any of your peaches have bad spots, cut that spot off and use the rest of the peach to make the preserves.

A Simple Method to Make Preserves with Summer Fruits

Peaches (or other summer fruits) – we used 15 peaches, which made two full jars of preserves.

Sugar for sweetening (for 15 peaches, we used one cup of sugar, but it depends on the sweetness of the crop of peaches)

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil.

Drop whole peaches in the water and let them boil for 5-10 minutes (depending on the ripeness of the peach). This process will loosen the skin. Do not try to peel peaches, as you will lose too much peach during the cutting process. The boiling process is perfect for tomatoes also. For berries and figs, skip this step and wash thoroughly. For pears, skip this step and peel with a knife.

While the peaches are boiling, fill a large bowl with cold water.

After the peaches have boiled for 5-10 minutes, remove them from the boiling water and drop the peaches straight into the cold water using your spider or tongs.

Once the peaches have sat in the cold water for 2-3 minutes, the skin should peel right off of them using your fingers. Place the peeled peaches in a separate bowl.

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When all of the peaches are peeled using this method, cut them in half and remove the pit. Also, remove the stem area where the peach once connected to the tree.

Pour the sugar over your peaches, place them in a pot, and turn the stove eye on medium-high heat (if you are preserving figs, you may have to add a little water to get the juices flowing). Simmer for approximately 25 minutes while stirring.

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Be very careful when stirring because the hot peach juice will pop and burn you. Taste the peaches to ensure their sweetness.

When the peaches (or other fruits) have softened, use a potato masher and mash the fruit so that you do not have large clumps in your preserves.

If you choose to can your preserves, this is when the process will begin.

When canning, please refer to the newest Ball Book of Canning and Preserving (click here to view it on Amazon) or research USDA guidelines.

However, we chose to try them out right away! I hope that you have many months of enjoying your bounty when preserving summer fruits!

What is your favorite fruit to make into preserves? We would love to hear from you! Please drop us a line in the comment section below.

Gregg Farms- Find them on Facebook by clicking HERE or visit the farm at 5634 Concord Road, Concord, Georgia 30206

For great summer recipes, check out our Strawberry Pie and Grandma’s Fried Zucchini and Squash.