The Peach Jar Leak: More Than Just Peaches

Be sure to pack the fruit tightly in each jar without crushing the pieces. Remove all air bubbles and top up with additional fruit and/or liquid. Some shrinkage will occur during processing so fruit that is well packed in each jar is less likely to have the space and/or room to float. I made eight half pints of peach chutney (more on that tomorrow). And i made these unpeeled, but very delicious, peach preserves.

You've made stock, applesauce, or peaches in syrup. You carefully ladle it into hot jars with the recommended headspace and dutifully can the recommended length of time in a water bath or pressure canner. But when you pull the jars out, the headspace is different and it looks like the canning jars leaked! Instead, peel your peaches and drop them into hot syrup (or whatever liquid you are using as your canning medium). Then funnel the hot peaches into jars and cover with hot liquid. The short time the fruit spends in the liquid helps remove some of the air from the fruit flesh and makes for a jar that is less likely to siphon. I have found with peaches especially that if you store them in a place that sunlight will hit the jar, they will discolor pretty quickly. I use these in baked applications as the color will be unnoticeable in the final product. Going forward, i would suggest finding a dark place to store your jars, especially things like peaches. Do you put a whole peach pit in the jar when you can peaches? A friend told me about this as we were talking on the phone and canning peaches at the same time. She has a friend who swears by it. I've never heard of this. What is the purpose of the pit in the jar? Remember, if the peaches are cold and you pour the hot syrup over them they will rise to the top of the jar because of the air becomes trapped in the cells the peaches, this may force some of the liquid out of the jar as well.

A friend told me about this as we were talking on the phone and canning peaches at the same time. She has a friend who swears by it. I've never heard of this. What is the purpose of the pit in the jar? Remember, if the peaches are cold and you pour the hot syrup over them they will rise to the top of the jar because of the air becomes trapped in the cells the peaches, this may force some of the liquid out of the jar as well. The syrup inside is boiling hot as it processes and it will flow into the boiling water because the jar is not yet sealed.

The syrup inside is boiling hot as it processes and it will flow into the boiling water because the jar is not yet sealed.