Well, first, before I got divorced my husband and I owned a health food store. One of the big sellers was Vitamin C capsules, 1,000 mg. Yes, they are capsules and they are filled with powdered ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). Since I have those in the cupboard that's what I use instead of buying Fruit Fresh which is astonishingly expensive, IMO.

When I freeze peaches I dunk them in the boiling water, peel and remove the pit, then slice in whatever size I like (I usually do sixths, for some reason I can't explain). I break open a couple of the capsules and mix with a bowl of water, then slice the peaches into the water. When the peaches are sliced I drain them and pack them into quart freezer bags.

They can be done on a baking sheet and then they are easier to use part of a bag, but I usually pack them in 4 cup bags, just enough for a pie or cobbler. I never add syrup or sugar and they don't turn brown or get ugly.

I don't try to eat them freshly thawed, of course, they are only for cooking.

Annie

Ascorbic acid, also known as Fruit Fresh, is used only to prevent oxidation of peaches and apples. Once these fruits are pealed and cut up, they start do darken some. Peaches take longer to dfarken, so they need less speed than an apple. Even for that, som apples have enough of the acid to remain light colored for a while. Dip the peaches in boiling water a minute or two, then into cold water. The peels usually fall right off. Cut them up into slices and remove the pits. If you wanting to freeze them, just add some ascorbic acid to the natural juices and peaches. If you want them to be loose in a bag in the freezer, larger slices or quarters would be more of a choice as they do get quite soft and can break down once frozen. Anyway, spread out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle the ascorbic acid granules all over them, then turn each over to get more of the acid to cling to each slice. Once frozen on the sheet, they may be hard to remove due to the juices also leeching out. If they are firm and dry, then a small amount of water and plenty of ascorbic acid is used as a 30 second dip for each slice. Essentially, ascorbic acid isn't as strong an acid as citric, so the peach flavor will not get destroyed by the ascorbic acid. Usually the ascorbic acid in a VItamin C capsule also contains things like corn starch, or other chemicals used to help keep them stable. True ascorbic acid is a granulated product and mixes well with most any liquid. If you do find the ascorbic acid in some garden supply stores, be sure its food grade. I bought a 2 pound bag cheap, only to discover it was used as a foliar spray for disease control, and was not suitable for food preservation.

Thanks all.

I tried my health food store first..$14. for tablets. The Amish looked at me ...and said ...No. Finally Whole Foods had crystals for $8.95 a 8oz jar. (Did the Amish Market near Sherry have AscAc Annie? I bought some citric which 'the books' said may have more of a lingering taste.) My peaches aren't the greatest this year, but since those at the farmers' market weren't much better (and were much more expensive) I thought this season can be my testing ground.

Ken, we owned a health food store. No cornstarch or additives in our capsules.

Maureen, I've never looked for ascorbic acid, so I didn't look at the Amish market either. I was able to get the ascorbic acid at cost, so it was cheaper for me.

Citric acid will also work as an acidifier, where ascorbic acid only keeps the fruit from darkening. Of course, lemon juice will do the same thing and it's cheaper, if you don't mind the flavor.

Oh, and that citric acid is great for cleaning dishwashers too.

Annie

Even better than citric acid for your dishwasher is a cheap package of Koolaid Lemonade.
I have really hard water with lots of iron in it, so everything gets those nasty brown deposits.....
One package of Lemonade run through the empty washer makes it sparkle like new! MY kind of cleaning!!
Wish the oven had a rinse cycle.....:+(
Deanna

Dh thinks I'm weird putting lime and lemon remains down the disposal so this would have to be done while he's sleeping. He's my sous-chef...aka the one who washes.

HA! I've got one of those "sous-chef's" too!!
I do the same thing......lemon rinds sure freshen the disposal!!

My only dilema is: Do I give the kitchen scraps to the chickens, put them in the compost pile or down the disposal?

I never seem to have enough scraps to keep them all going!
:+)
Deanna

I go with chickens, since they produce 'better composte' aka manure.

One more "disposal" ladies - worms!

I built a double decker worm bin. It takes all the scraps that the chickens can't eat - coffee grounds, lemon/lime peels, potato peeling, any kind of veggies, plus tea bags. Also, the shredded paper - newspaper, old letters, stuff with our names/addresses on it from mail, etc.

Then the worm castings go into the garden, and the worm "tea" fertilizes the house plants.

Orange peels seem to be the biggest problem, but I made a wooden box near the tree and use it to compost any falling fruit, and rake them up when I'm there - don't want a lot of fruit flies cluttering up the place.

The only thing that goes into the trash pick-up - would be bones - that I can't make soup out of, or meats scraps, etc.

Makes ya feel so good recycling - yeah!

Oh - and to be OT, peach peelings work there too - LOL.

Bejay

I'll have an update on my peach peelings after this weekend!
It's definitely more fun to feed them to the chickens and watch them fight over them!!
Deanna