The Perfect Peach Project

A few weeks back, I started getting notifications on Facebook about The Peach Truck Tour rolling through town. If you’re as unfamiliar as I was with The Peach Truck, it tours around the Southeast selling fresh Georgia peaches in 25-pound boxes. I had never handled that volume of fruit before, but I had been dying to try canning (and wasn’t growing enough of anything to merit canning), so we decided to give them a try.

The Peach Truck rolls up to select locations for only an hour, accepting debit and credit cards only. For $42, I procured my 25 pounds of peaches and headed home with the instructions that they would be ready in about two days. I let them sit on my counter during those two days while I dreamed of cobblers, cakes, and other peach provisions and came up with a game plan.

After giving about six pounds to my mom, I settled on using the remaining 19 pounds to make peach cobbler, peach ice cream, peach salsa, peach preserves, and then can the rest.

I’m a total texture person, so peeling the peaches was the absolute worst. Between the fuzz of the skin and the slime of the peeled peaches, I struggled. The peeling itself isn’t labor intensive if the peaches are briefly blanched then dunked in an ice water bath. The skin essentially just slides off.

I have such fond memories of my mom teaching me to bake when I was younger. My son has taken such an interest in cooking; he loves to pull a chair up to the counter and “help.” We had a blast putting together the cobbler and ice cream together. It’s days like these that I hope he remembers when he gets older.

I absolutely loved all the recipes I followed:

• Old-Fashioned Peach Cobbler from Tastes Better from Scratch
• Best Peach Ice Cream from Stephie Cooks
• Fresh Peach Salsa by Natasha’s Kitchen

I used about six pounds to make peach preserves and canned the rest using the water bath method. I canned my peaches using a very light syrup (1 cup sugar to 3 cups water) that did a phenomenal job of preserving the taste of the peach. How do I know? One of my cans popped open a few days later, so we are currently enjoying peaches from my canning method.

For the last few months, I’ve been really focused on being more intentional. I don’t think twice about going to the grocery store and grabbing everything there. What I really want to start doing is visiting farmer’s markets and produce stands to help support small farmers. Florida’s tradition is rich in farming. In fact, three generations ago, that’s how many of my family members made their living. Grocery chain fruits and vegetables, though convenient to grab in a pinch, aren’t intentional.

As I seek to apply this word to my food, I wanted to try canning as a way to be intentional about making my money for fruits and vegetables go as far as possible. It’s no secret that it’s expensive to each healthy! Plus, because only two adults and a small picky eater live here, fruits and vegetables go quick badly, resulting in food waste. Teaching myself to can solves the budget and spoilage problem. I’m already dreaming of what I will can next!

To see if the Peach Truck is scheduled to make a stop in your area, visit: The Peach Truck Tour’s website. The peaches taste incredible, and the staff is so friendly!