I don't know susy, but I will be interested in reading the answers of others because I have had the same problem. Peaches from the same tree, at (as far as I can tell) the same stage of ripeness, react quite differently to the blanching-peeling process. I have had batches slip the skins off perfectly, and others that end up a mangled mess. Who wants canned peaches that look like they've been dragged across gravel??

I have trouble when the peaches aren't very ripe. Did you cut an x in the bottom and then have an ice bath ready? I boil about 40 seconds, then into the ice bath. This usually works, but like I said they are stubborn when the peaches aren't very ripe.

Tracey

My guess is they were underripe or commercial peaches picked before tree-ripe. A ripe peach when blanched should peel easily regardless of variety. Before blanching cut into and taste the peach. You can tell if it's ready or not.

Carol

Putting them in the ice bath immediately after the boiling water always seems to do it for me. I don't think I've ever had a problem peeling them before, but I'll know why from now on when I come across that issue!

Lori

X cut on the bottom and ice bath after blanching helps for me too, but only if they are reasonably ripe. I ended up using a knife on a couple that weren't ripe enough.

The other peach frustration I run into is when the peach is ripe and the shell of the pit fractures when I cut the peach so that I have to dig out a pieces of the edge of the shell left behind. Sometimes I cut the peach in half not along the seam because the pit is better at coming out whole when I pull the peach off in that direction. Anyone else do that?

Well, I suppose it's possible the peaches were not completely ripe. I'd say only half the bushel was soft, the other half were quite firm still. I'm still looking to put up another half-bushel, so I will try it once again, with the ripe peaches only.

At least the pit came out easily. Last year I accidentally bought clingstones for canning. I think I cursed quite a bit that day. :-)

Clingstones are the only ones I can as DH likes them really firm when canned. Mom used a lye bath and then rinsed and rinsed but it seems I forgot the formula and now lye is near impossible to find anyway. Sounds awful doesn't it, but that's the way the cannery peels the clings at least when I worked there as a teenager. We lost our almost-free supply of clings, so many trees pulled out, that the few I can get I just peel by hand after first removing the pit, of course. Sis grows beautiful freestones at home and supplies them to me at the peak of ripeness and the skins slip right off sometimes without boiling water. They are perfect for ice cream or cobbler or just plain sliced for dessert.

We had a peach tree in our yard when I was a child. It was my job to blanch the peaches. I agree about the ripeness and the ice bath. The only other thing I can remember that my mom always made sure I only put a few in at a time, and kept a rhythm going of taking out a few, then adding a few more, where the water was always constantly boiling. If I put too many in at once, the temperature would go down too much and it would take too long to get back up to boiling so the peaches would start to cook.

When we bought this house the previous owner swore this was an apricot tree and the nursery label said apricot; however, this is the first year that it really had abundant fruit and it is a fight with the wildlife to harvest. The wind broke one branch and we picked the fruit even though it was not completely ripe. I used the paperbag trick to ripen. The fruit is the color of apricots and very firm even when fully ripe. The stone is like a peach but obviously it is a cling type as the fruit does not break away from the pit. We have been calling this tree a peach-cot but are still baffled. I put the fruit into boiling water - 1 row deep - and let it boil 3 or 4 minutes and immediately into ice bath. The skin still was stuck tightly to the fruit. I cooked it again after cutting the fruit off the stone. Looks like I will be making jam syrup again after I use the blender on it.