I can remember as a child biting into a fresh ripe peach, letting the juice dribble down my chin and thinking life just doesn’t get better than this. As an adult my opinion hasn’t changed. I LOVE fresh, the problem with fresh peaches is that they are only in season for a little while. Thank goodness that they can be preserved by canning! This week my sister and I canned fresh peaches without using sugar and I wanted to share my recipe with you.
Growing up my mom was quite the canner. Working all day making peaches, pickles, tomatoes, grape juice, applesauce. She was always hot and tired by the time she was done. I suppose as a child I never appreciated all the work that went into the whole process. As an adult the thought of standing in my kitchen all day carvin’ up peaches just didn’t sound appealing. Let’s just say it took me many years as a mother myself to get the desire to can. But eventually I missed the flavor of homemade peaches, pears and applesauce so I knew I had to try.
My sister came to visit me this past week and we decided we would can peaches together. All I can say is that it is SO much better to can with someone. Especially someone who makes you giggle and laugh all the way through the process. We both had to fight the urge to eat them all up too…one for the canning jar, one for me. Two for the canning jar… ahem.
As I am starting on a more real foods lifestyle I wanted my recipe to be without white sugar. I loved the idea of using honey instead, since someday I dream of having my own beehive. We picked, peeled and canned the peaches together. Then we opened up a jar to try them out. They were wonderful!!
Perfecto! Glorious even.
Here is how to preserve peaches without sugar.
Supplies needed:
- Jars, lids and rings
- Canner, tongs, canning jar holder, pots
- Cutting Board, paring knife
- Large bowl, colander
- Ice
- measuring cups & teaspoons
- Peaches – use freestone peaches – they make canning easy! The pits come right out. I used Elberta peaches this year.
- Lemon Juice
- Honey
- water
You want to start with some fresh ripe peaches. We went down to our local u-pick orchard and picked 95 lb. of peaches!! We paid $0.70 per lb. I think it will be great when I have my own farm to grow a few peach trees so I will save money.
It was so fun picking peaches, we took our kids and had a blast. There were a few peaches we picked that were ripe and ready to eat but the majority of them had to wait a few days. I took a twin sized sheet and laid out each peach individually. If left in the boxes they will bruise more.
It took two days and then most of the peaches were ripe. You don’t want them to be too soft or too hard. Gently press them and if they slightly give they are ready.
Once you are ready to begin, get your stations ready. First step is to sterilize your jars and lids.
I ran my jars through the sterilize option on my dishwasher. If you don’t have a dishwasher just clean them with hot soapy water as best you can. You want your jars to be really clean to avoid any bacteria that might get in.
Also add your lids and rings to a pot and simmer until ready to use.
Peel your peaches either using the water bath method or with a peeler. I used the water bath method which is this. Get a pot of boiling water going. Have a bowl of ice water ready for cooling. Gently add in a few peaches, and then leave for 30 seconds in the boiling water. Quickly remove to the ice water to cool for one minute.
Then if the peaches are ripe the skins should just peel off super easily.
Then take your peaches, slice it in half and remove the pits.
I removed the little bit of red next to the pit…and sliced my peaches into 1/4 inch slices.
Then add them to the jar.I always stuff as many peaches as I can get in there until I get to the threads of the jar top.
To the jars: Add first one teaspoon of lemon juice to preserve color.
Then in a separate bowl you take 7 cups of warm water and mix in 1/3 cup of honey. I love this picture. It’s artsy-fartsy.
Pour the honey water combo into your jars leaving about 1/2 inch of headroom. I would also jiggle the jar to release any pockets of air.
Next add the lids and rings to the top of the jars. You can use a fork to get the lids out of the simmering water or one of those cool canning magnets. Don’t screw on the rings too tight. Place the jars into your canner and make sure there is 1 inch of water above the tops of the jars. Once the water is boiling boil your jars for 15-20 minutes. The canning manuals will tell you to cook them for 20-25 minutes but I choose to do it for 15 minutes.
After the time is up remove the jars on a towel to cool. Make sure to not have the jars touch each other. And do not touch them or mess with them as this can mess up the processing as well. The lids will “pop” as they cool. I love hearing that sound…
If for some reason once they are all cool you have a jar that didn’t pop, that means it didn’t seal right. So you can go ahead and eat right away or save in your refrigerator for up to a week or two.
Canned Peaches without Sugar
Ingredients
- 20 lbs Peaches – freestone
- 10 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup Honey
- 7 cups water
Instructions
- Sterilize your jars and lids. If you don't have a dishwasher just clean them with hot soapy water as best you can. You want your jars to be really clean to avoid any bacteria that might get in.
- Add your lids and rings to a small pot and simmer on low until ready to use.
- Start your large canning pot to boil. If it boils too quickly you can turn it to low until you're ready to add your canning jars to it.
- Peel your peaches either using the water bath method or with a peeler. For water bath: Get a pot of boiling water going. Have a bowl of ice water ready for cooling. Gently add in a few peaches, and then leave for 30 seconds in the boiling water. Quickly remove to the ice water to cool for one minute. The skins should peel off super easily
- Then take your peaches, slice in half and remove the pits. Note: I prefer to remove the little bit of red next to the pit and slice my peaches into 1/4 inch slices
- Then add the peaches to the jars. Stuff as many peaches as you can get in there until your peaches reach just below the rings of the jars.
- Add one teaspoon of lemon juice to each jar to preserve color.
- Then in a separate bowl take 7 cups of warm water and mix in 1/3 cup of honey. Mix until combined.
- Pour the honey water into your jars leaving about 1/2 inch of headroom. I would also jiggle the jar to release any pockets of air or use a canning tool to remove air.
- Next add the lids and rings to the top of the jars. You can use a fork to get the lids out of the simmering water or one of those cool canning magnets. Note: Don't screw on the rings too tight!
- Place the jars into your canner and make sure there is 1 inch of water above the tops of the jars. Once the water is boiling, boil your jars for 15-20 minutes. The canning manuals will tell you to cook them for 20-25 minutes but I choose to do it for 15 minutes.
- After the time is up remove the jars, sitting them upright onto to a towel to cool. Make sure to not have the jars touch each other. And do not touch them or mess with them as this can mess up the processing as well. The lids will "pop" as they cool. I love hearing that sound…it's the best!
- If for some reason once they are all cool you have a jar that didn’t pop, that means it didn’t seal right. So you can go ahead and eat right away or save in your refrigerator for up to a week or two.
Nutrition
Loved this recipe?
Make sure to follow on Instagram @happymoneysaver and on Pinterest @happymoneysaver for more money savin’ recipes!
After you are all done canning your peaches, consider doing a happy thought by sharing a finished jar with a friend saying “I love you to Peaches”. Who wouldn’t love that?
Questions? Comments? What are you canning this year? Do you have any tips to share?
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Lynnette says
Isn’t honey just as bad if you are diabetic?
Kat says
Will the peaches taste like honey if canned in honey instead of sugar?
Jamie says
I am making these right now and am eager to taste them! Thank you for providing a recipe free from processed sugar!
Also, for those qondering about how many peaches this recipe works for: I processed a half bushel of peaches, which made 13 quarts, and the syrup was JUST the right amount!! Perfect and much easier than I anticipated!
Jamie
Penny says
Misleading. If there is honey in then it’s not sugar free.
Nicole says
No matter what you do you will not find a recipe for sugar free peaches. Unless you have found a sugar free peach, since peaches have natural sugars in them. Style point on the negativity when someone is providing information for free. 👌🏼 You sound like a peach. 😉
Wende says
I agree with the person who said this is misleading. You shaming them for negativity when they pointed it out makes me assume you are a middle class white lady. I think we all understand that peaches have sugar in them and have the desire to preserve them without adding extra sugar. You added a different type of extra sugar and that is misleading and you also got all defensive and rude when you were called out on your deception. And while you said you did this for free, since you have this blog, I am confident that you have a profit motive.
Michael Semon says
To a diabetic honey is no different than sugar. It’s just a different form of sugar. So to say it’s sugar free is misleading. We are looking for recipes that do not add sugar and that would include honey or sugar or raw sugar or toronado sugar, etc.
Isadora says
Replying to Wende since there is no reply button under her comment.
While I agree her reply to the criticism was unprofessional, you are a Karen looking to virtue signal on the internet. How pathetic to bring up class and race as if those are the only two factors that make people behave the way they do. Grow up
Nicole says
Wendy I think you believe I am the author of this blog, which I am not. So therefore I have no profit motive nor was I getting defensive about my practices since they are not listed on here. I feel bad that someone is sharing their information with the public (money motivated or not) a lot of people in canning will not share their knowledge without a price, since many are family methods or recipes. I wouldn’t say my comment was shaming, although I can see how some may take it that way. I took the comment the previous respondent said as shaming. They simply could have said something like “I thought it was no added sugars, natural or refined. Do you have a recipe that has no added natural or refined sugars?”. I’m sure the author would have gladly shared if she did or did not. As for the comment assuming someone’s race and economic status is disheartening. It’s one thing to comment about negativity and behaviors, but when we bring in things that cannot be changed, well I don’t even have the words for that. That is a problem with today’s society, we no longer see people for who they are as a person we only see social status and skin color. It’s truly sad. But you couldn’t be more wrong about the middle class lady accusation. I would have replied directly to your comment but there was no option to. I wanted to clear it up that these were not the authors thoughts or words.
Rose-anne Woods says
Just had a great laugh at your rebuttal.💜
Anne-Marie says
How many pounds or cups of peaches did you use?? Need to know if the quantities are correct for the peaches I have. Thanks.
Karrie says
Shoot, I can’t remember, and it differs every time.
Billie says
I used 2 peaches cut in half in each pint jar. I made 7 jars, so 14 peaches.
Linda says
Does anyone on here know how many peaches we need to do this recipe ? Thank you
Kathy says
I used approx 14-17 lbs of peaches and got 15 pints. I did a double batch of liquid and needed one extra cup beyond that.
Diana de Leeuw says
For 1 recipe I used 10lbs of peaches which made 6 quarts.
Sara says
How many pounds of peaches are needed for this?
Maureen says
I just made this using frozen apple juice concentrate instead of honey and it turned out great!
Cannning mama says
When I use apple juice the peaches don’t taste like peaches. They taste like apple juice…
Brenda S. says
I’m hoping to try this recipe but wondered about how many peaches did you use for this amount of liquid? How many jars will this make? Thank you!
Beryl SAX says
Your recipe calls for 10 tablespoons for 10 quarts, but says to add 1 teaspoon to each quart; which do you mean?
Dawn says
I was wondering the same thing 😊
Rae says
Hi there! I was just wondering if these keep their color? My mom and I are canning some peaches from our tree and she was worried that the absence of sugar would turn the peaches a wonky color. Just curious from your experience. Sounds like these are yummy so we will definitely be trying regardless. Just want to know what to expect. 🙂
Karrie says
Yes they do!
Andrea D. Peters says
It isn’t the sugar that perserves the color, it is the lemon!
Kathy says
I agree with the lemon juice they are sure to not turn!
Grace says
This is the best ever peaches recipe for canning, thank you!!!
Jenifer says
Hi! Loved this. Do you have more recipes where you sub in honey instead and it works well?
I’m looking to do the same with most things for the same reasons ?.
Iris says
Thank you – My first time canning peaches. Really appreciated being able to use honey!
Marie says
Me too. I do not use cane sugar at all so honey was a great sub.
Courtney MacIntosh says
How many pounds of peaches are needed for this recipe?
Karen Traynor says
My mother canned peaches and other fruits. And did not use a canner . She made the syrup b roughy it to a boil ex:added the skinned peache halves stone removed and simmered 3 minutes packed in hot sterilized jars and sealed. Would like your comment.
Allison S says
This is my third year canning peaches with your recipe. I love the simplicity and they taste divine. Tried it once with pears, but they just don’t have a strong enough flavor to hold up…can’t wait till next year! Thank you:)
Mauna Procor says
Hi! I added a drop of the expensive DoTera mint to each jar of pears, and my family loves them.
Casey says
Just made this recipe. So easy and tasty. I used pint jars, because there are just 2 of us. One question, the jars sealed, all of them popped, but when I went to put them away after they cooled, I noticed that the jars were sticky. It seems that some of the juice leaked out in the pot. Is that a problem? Will that inhibit the preservation? Thanks
Michelle Brook says
This is normal! Just wipe your jars or wash with soapy water after they have sat for 12 hours undisturbed
Mauna Proctor says
I have discovered that if a jar is filled above the line that indicates the point where the lid fits, the jars will lose part of their juice and be sticky. Consider the “rim” the top point for filling.
Carol Sondag says
I actually used this recipe last year and I have to say these peaches canned are the best I’ve ever had.
Brandi says
I’m new to canning. Do you have to add a sugar-based liquid to preserve fruit? I would rather not add any sugar (that includes honey) if possible. Can you just do water and the lemon juice or would it not taste right?
Mauna Proctor says
I’ve tried the “no sweetener” attempt, and the product doesn’t please my family enough to eat it. Remember, there is no more expensive meal than the one your family won’t eat.
Sarah dickison says
Thank you ! I was desperate to find a recipe to try that doesn’t use white refined sugar 🙂 . I’m so excited and thanks for allowing helpful comments from people like Mellissa, Nicole, and Tina Harrington 🙂
Carol says
How long do they keep after canning
Mauna Proctor says
I have discovered that “keeping quality” is affected by temperature. When the storage room is cool, the fruit retains quality for up to 2 years. It is always better during the first year, however. If the fruit changes color or smells funky, put it in the composter. Don’t attempt to salvage something that might discourage people eating your canned food forever.