Peach Butter

[Lorelai]

Costco has organic peaches for a killer deal (yes, okay, I know, but I live in town and can't have my own orchard!), so I am planning to take advantage. I'd like to make Peach Butter, and I'm using the recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It calls for 4 1/2 lbs of peaches to 4 cups of granulated sugar, plus some lemon juice/zest. Has anyone had any success cutting down the sugar a bit, or substituting some other sweetener for at least half, using this kind of recipe? Just curious...

 

[April Manier]

I would recommend using a bag of apples for the pectin. I think that you can cut the sugar down a bit.

I find adding a little lemon zest helps develop the natural flavor of the fruit.

Also, you can always use agave nectar to pump up the sweetness.

I use Costco's Organic evaporated cane juice..

 

[vfem]

You don't need pectin in the fruit butter recipes... so no worries.

Yes you can use less sugar in a fruit butter recipe, just don't cut back on the lemon. I make peach butter with a full crockpot of peaches, 1 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, chai powder & lemon juice. To me it's fabulous!

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

You don't need pectin in the fruit butter recipes... so no worries.

Yes you can use less sugar in a fruit butter recipe, just don't cut back on the lemon. I make peach butter with a full crockpot of peaches, 1 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, chai powder & lemon juice. To me it's fabulous!

vfem, that sounds wonderful! How long do you let that cook up? I can imagine the wonderful smell when I got home from work if I left all of that in the crockpot for the day. Mmmmmm.....

 

[vfem]

Depends on how juicy the peaches are... white peaches don't take as long as yellow.

I let it cook for about 2-3 hours on low then puree the fruit. At this point I add the spices and sugar. Then I leave the lid on for 2 more hours and then remove the lid and let it reduce and thicken. This can take 5-8 hours depending.

 

[Lorelai]

You don't need pectin in the fruit butter recipes... so no worries.

Yes you can use less sugar in a fruit butter recipe, just don't cut back on the lemon. I make peach butter with a full crockpot of peaches, 1 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, chai powder & lemon juice. To me it's fabulous!

That does sound fabulous. I probably wouldn't add the chai powder, but I much prefer brown sugar, and adding cinnamon sounds divine. I might add a bit of nutmeg for some spice too, now that my imagination is whirling. About how much cinnamon might you add per pound of peaches? I know that it's all to taste, but as an inexperienced canner, I'd like to get an idea of the ratios. I tend to err on the side of too much cinnamon, myself. I love it. I usually just eyeball the nutmeg, since it has a stronger flavor, but if I want to capture the spice without it being overpowering, any advice?

I'm really looking forward to "Canning for Christmas." I may even have all of my "shopping" done by Halloween this year, and I can see some of this glorious sounding peach butter ending up in gift baskets...

ETA: I will be using yellow peaches, as I prefer the flavor, though I believe Costco has both, and nectarines as well. The price is just over $1/lb, which is very good in my area, since it's really difficult to grow peaches here. We just don't have long seasons, and what little summer we do end up with, is preceded by seemingly endless rain, which seems to give the trees leaf curl, among other things.

 

[casper1]

what is a good price for peaches? We just had them on sale for .99 per pound. Is that good?

 

[Veggie PAK]

I just bought 14 pounds of them a couple days ago for $1.89 a pound from a local farm stand. You did well!

 

[Lorelai]

what is a good price for peaches? We just had them on sale for .99 per pound. Is that good?

For these parts, that's an excellent price, and unheard of for organic peaches. Hope you stocked up! Ours are about $1.29/ lb for organic yellow peaches, and that's a very limited time offer bargain.

 

[vfem]

Peaches are usually about $1lb around here too. That's why I planted 3 of our own trees. Only 1 had peaches this year, can't wait to see next years harvest!

Lorelai, I would do about 1/2 tsp for 1 crockpot full. Maybe 1 tsp if you are cinnamon junky, I just like to get a 'hint' of it myself.