Lavender and Honey Canned Peaches

Yields 4-5 liters. Serve it with ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

Ingredients
7 lb (3.5 kg) fresh ripe peaches, about 30 * filtered water, reserve 6 cups 1.5 cups sugar 2.5 cups natural honey 1/8 tsp salt 1 tbsp dried lavender

Directions
Fill a large pot to about 2/3 full of water and bring it to a rapid, rolling boil over high heat.

With a light hand, score an “X” into the fuzzy bottom of each peach and continue running your knife up the side of the fruit until the peach is scored (but not cut) into quarters. Carefully drop about 6-8 peaches, depending on size, into the water and boil for 60 – 90 seconds. Do the peaches in batches and keep the heat steady and high to prevent the water temperature from dropping.

As soon as the peaches are blanched, remove them immediately from the boiling water and place into an ice water bath to stop the cooking and further loosen the skins.

The water that the peaches were cooked in is likely a dusky gold color. Reserve six (6) cups of the liquid and pour off the rest.

When the peaches are fully cooled, slide the edge of a spoon or a dull butter knife (not serrated) under the skin at one of the edges and gently pull it away. The skin should just slip right off. Use a short and sharp paring knife to split the peach in half and remove the pit. Slice each fruit into 8-10 wedges.

Canning Instructions
Clean and sterilize your glass jars. I like to use a mixture of 500 ml and 1L containers, but the choice is yours.

Pack the peach slices into your jars fairly tightly, but without pushing the fruit down and crushing it, until it comes up to 1/2″ from the top lip of the jar. Sprinkle a scant teaspoon of lavender into each liter sized jar (or 1/2 tsp lavender per 500 ml jar).

Source: Choosy Beggars