Light, sweet, and refreshing, this delicious adaptation of a family favorite is made with juice from freshly picked peaches and lemons to create a summery drink that is sure to brighten your day!
Fresh peaches are a delicious treat anytime, but when I was able to score a great deal from a local farm, I bought tons! Well, ok, not tons, but definitely pounds. Twenty-two pounds to be exact. Just enough for us to restock some of our favorite canned peach items and enjoy them the whole year through.
While refilling our stock in home-canned Peach Butter, I thought it a waste to just throw out all of the natural juice from the peaches. Remembering a tried and true Ball Canning Recipe, I came up with a delicious idea: Peach Lemonade Concentrate. Using the same methods and a couple of tweaks to the ingredient amounts, I was able to create a simple and refreshing drink, perfect for a hot summer day!
Yield: 14 pints
Ingredients
7 cups fresh peach juice
5 cups fresh lemon juice
7 cups granulated sugar
How to Get the Juice from Peaches
Puree Method
In a large, stainless-steel stockpot, blanch well-washed peaches in boiling water for approximately 30-90 seconds, depending on their size. Remove the peaches from the boiling water then quickly place them into a large bowl of ice-cold water. The skins should slip off easily. Slice the peaches away from the pit. Puree the peach slices in a blender or food processor with a metal blade, then transfer to a large stainless-steel stockpot and continue with remaining directions.
By-Product Method:
The way I achieve this is by using the water from the blanched peaches as well as the juice from the peaches themselves. Once the skin is removed from the blanched peaches, I allow them to rest in a bowl while I work to prepare them for a recipe such as Peach Extract or Zesty Peach BBQ Sauce. By the time I'm finished with the peaches, there's a good amount of juice in the bowl. I mix the juice with approximately 4 cups of the blanching water to obtain the 7 cups. If you have a steam juicer that would work as well.
Prepare for Canning:
To prepare jars for canning, I like to place my clean, room-temperature jars into my canning pot with room temperature water. I allow my jars and water to come to the same temperature at the same time. You don’t want boiling water; you’re just heating everything up.
Place a clean kitchen towel on the counter space where you intend to place your hot jars once removed from the canner.
Once your juice is ready for canning, carefully remove the jars from the pot using your canning jar lifter and empty the hot water back into the pot. Place the hot jars on the prepared kitchen towel and begin ladling in the sauce.
Tips & Tricks for the Canning Process:
If you have a water bath canner, you’ll want to use it here. I don’t have a separate canner for water bath canning, so I just use my pressure canner with the rack. However, I do not lock the lid in place and allowed the canning lid to sit slightly ajar.
If you don’t have a water bath or pressure canner, no worries! You can simply use a large stock pot with a makeshift rack. Your pot should be tall enough so that the water covers the jars.
To make a DIY canning rack, you can simply tie five or six canning rings together and place your jars on top. If you have a large Instant Pot rack you can use that instead. The main thing is you don’t want to place your jars directly inside the pot. Air and heat need to be able to circulate around the jars completely to ensure proper processing.
When placing your rings onto the jars, you want to tighten them with just your fingertips. If the rings are too tight your lids will buckle and can result in an unsealed jar. If you don’t tighten them enough, the water can seep into your jar and ruin your product.
Altitude Adjustments
Process half pints and pints in a water bath canner for 15 minutes (below 1,000 feet in elevation).
Between 1,000 and 3,000 feet, increase the processing time to 20 minutes.
Between 3,000 and 6,000 feet, the jars should be processed for 25 minutes.
Process for 30 minutes above 6,000 feet in elevation.
This recipe has not been tested in quarts and should only be canned in pints and half pints.
Directions
Filter juice from the fresh peaches and lemons through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.
Remove any pieces of fruit or pulp. Filter separately to ensure proper measurements of each.
Add filtered peach juice to a 12-quart stainless steel stockpot.
Add filtered lemon juice and sugar. Stir well to combine.
Heat mixture to 190 degrees Fahrenheit (87.7 degrees Celsius). Do not boil.
Carefully, ladle juice into prepared hot jars leaving a ¼ inch headspace.
Use a clean dish cloth or paper towel with a little distilled vinegar to wipe the rims of the jars, ensuring they're not sticky, and jar rims are free of any nicks.
Center canning lid onto jar and screw on ring using just your fingertips. Do not over tighten rings.
Carefully place completed jars into the prepared water bath canner.
Once all jars are in the canner, ensure they are completely covered with water by 1 inch. Place lid on canner.
Bring the canner to a rolling boil and begin processing time of 15 minutes (adjust for altitude if needed.)
Turn off the heat and allow the canner to rest for 5 minutes.
Remove the canner lid and allow jars to rest in the canner for 10 minutes.
Carefully, remove the jars from the canner using the jar lifter and place onto prepared kitchen towel.
Allow jars to cool for 12-24 hours.
Check the lids for proper sealing. Remove the rings from the jars and gently press the center of the canning lid on each jar. If the lid pops back up, your lid did not seal properly unfortunately. It happens! If it's just one jar, place that one in the refrigerator and use within a couple of weeks. If it's several jars, remove all of the lids, wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar, add new lids, and reprocess again in the canner.
Once the jars are completely cooled, sealed, and rings removed, wipe down the jars with warm, soapy water and dry completely. Label and store jars in a cool dark cabinet, cold room, or cellar suitable for canning products.
How To Make Peach Lemonade
To reconstitute, mix one part concentrate with one part water, tonic water, or ginger ale. Adjust concentrate to suit your taste.
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