100 Days of Science-- #38 Making Fresh Peach Preserves
We had so many peaches that we could not possibly eat them all before they went bad. So Alec and I decided to try making fresh peach preserves. It ended up being a wonderful science lesson too!
We had only ever made strawberry preserves once or twice and we weren't sure how much we'd have to change our recipe to accommodate the peaches. We figured with a little trial and error we'd be able to figure it out.
To make the preserves we used:
6 medium peaches; peeled and cut into pieces
3 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
We knew we didn't want any skin in our preserves so we peeled the peaches and diced them into bite sized pieces.
We discovered our peach chunks were too big so after they had softened up quite a bit we used our potato masher to break them into smaller pieces. We also noticed that the puree had a lot more water than we're used to seeing with the strawberry preserves we made so we boiled for an extra 10 minutes; bringing our total boiling time up to 30 minutes.
When we thought the preserves were done we tested our mixture by dropping a small amount on a plate we had put in the freezer. We let the preserves sit for a minute and then tried running our finger through it to make sure nothing ran back into the center.
We knew our preserves were ready to be jarred. We poured them into three clean canning jars and let them set up.
We tried them the next day and found that while these preserves were MUCH thicker than our strawberry preserves the taste was perfect!
So far we've added some preserves to our plain yogurt in the morning, on toast, with Nutella for a yummy sandwich and even sprinkled over our peach ice cream.
While I'm not sure we have the exact science of making preserves down yet I still call this quite a success.
Do you have any tips or tricks to share?
We had only ever made strawberry preserves once or twice and we weren't sure how much we'd have to change our recipe to accommodate the peaches. We figured with a little trial and error we'd be able to figure it out.
To make the preserves we used:
6 medium peaches; peeled and cut into pieces
3 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
We knew we didn't want any skin in our preserves so we peeled the peaches and diced them into bite sized pieces.
Once we had a decent amount of peaches we added some sugar and lemon juice and brought the whole thing to a boil stirring to make sure nothing burned or stuck to the bottom of the pan.
We discovered our peach chunks were too big so after they had softened up quite a bit we used our potato masher to break them into smaller pieces. We also noticed that the puree had a lot more water than we're used to seeing with the strawberry preserves we made so we boiled for an extra 10 minutes; bringing our total boiling time up to 30 minutes.
When we thought the preserves were done we tested our mixture by dropping a small amount on a plate we had put in the freezer. We let the preserves sit for a minute and then tried running our finger through it to make sure nothing ran back into the center.
We knew our preserves were ready to be jarred. We poured them into three clean canning jars and let them set up.
We tried them the next day and found that while these preserves were MUCH thicker than our strawberry preserves the taste was perfect!
So far we've added some preserves to our plain yogurt in the morning, on toast, with Nutella for a yummy sandwich and even sprinkled over our peach ice cream.
While I'm not sure we have the exact science of making preserves down yet I still call this quite a success.
Do you have any tips or tricks to share?
Others in this series:
1. Bernoulli's Principle
2. Ecotarium Trip
3. Air Molecule Experiment
4. Kitchen Science
5. Corn Maze Field Trip
6. Birds of Florida
7. Making Static Music
8. Un-Make It Monday
9. Wind Tunnel Experiment
10. Biomes Field Trip
11. Disappearing Coin Trip
12. Snuffing out a Candle With Baking Soda
13. Making Plastic from Milk
14. Friction Experiment
15. & 16. Snow Experiments
17. Making an Iceberg
18. Floating Eggs
19. Pond Water Under a Microscope
20. Planting Eco Plant Pals
21. & 22. Cotton Candy Experiments
23. Springfield Science Museum Trip
24. Signs of Spring
25. Color Changing Slime
26. Growing Our Own Tickle Plants
27. Learning About Soil Sampling
28. Making Bouncy Balls
29. Exploring the Shoreline
30. Color Changing Flowers
31. Roger Williams Zoo Trip
32. Edible Silly Putty
33. Raising Tadpoles
34. More Microscope Fun
35. Homemade Ice Cream
36. How Plants Breathe Experiment
37. Save The Bay Exploration Center Trip
1. Bernoulli's Principle
2. Ecotarium Trip
3. Air Molecule Experiment
4. Kitchen Science
5. Corn Maze Field Trip
6. Birds of Florida
7. Making Static Music
8. Un-Make It Monday
9. Wind Tunnel Experiment
10. Biomes Field Trip
11. Disappearing Coin Trip
12. Snuffing out a Candle With Baking Soda
13. Making Plastic from Milk
14. Friction Experiment
15. & 16. Snow Experiments
17. Making an Iceberg
18. Floating Eggs
19. Pond Water Under a Microscope
20. Planting Eco Plant Pals
21. & 22. Cotton Candy Experiments
23. Springfield Science Museum Trip
24. Signs of Spring
25. Color Changing Slime
26. Growing Our Own Tickle Plants
27. Learning About Soil Sampling
28. Making Bouncy Balls
29. Exploring the Shoreline
30. Color Changing Flowers
31. Roger Williams Zoo Trip
32. Edible Silly Putty
33. Raising Tadpoles
34. More Microscope Fun
35. Homemade Ice Cream
36. How Plants Breathe Experiment
37. Save The Bay Exploration Center Trip
Can those boys come over and can for me? I used to do jam but never preserves. I’ll bet your batches are delicious!
ReplyDeleteThey were very yummy! I have since used it to make up a really delicious and sweet BBQ sauce too.
DeleteThey look delish!! Why are they upside down to set up? Any reason?
ReplyDeleteIt helps seal the jars.
DeleteDid the boys enjoy doing this? It looks like a fun activity and yummy too! I wish I would have learned how to can from my mom when I was growing up. You are teaching them a fantastic skill... one their future wives will be thankful for!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, only my middle son helped... but he LOVES preserves & nutella sandwiches. My boys and I learned about canning at a 4H class and I've read a few blogs... I have not ventured further than preserves since that's what was taught at the class and I am always scared to death that I'm going to make us ill by doing it wrong but so far so good.
DeleteSounds just peachy! (And delicious, too!)
ReplyDeleteIt really was yummy.
DeleteI love this post! I have always wanted to make my own preserves. Def on my list to try. I made this post a feature at the Whimsical Wednesdays Link Party this week. Thanks so much for linking up!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the feature!
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