Hi sam, the key phrase is 'use promptly'. The BWB canning book I use gives me a Use By date which is generally 6 to 8 weeks.

Cheers, Mary

Thanks for the responses. Am up to my armpits in fruit right now so was looking for alternatives to "sweets" like jams and butters. sam

Slice and freeze. I use them in smoothies all year long. (A friend has a peach tree....yummy, juicy delicious peaches.) Also, search for peach muffin recipes. I made some that were pretty good. Also freezable.

Or just can them plain and then you can use them for all sorts of things come winter - cobblers, pies, tarts, cakes, jams, salsas, marmalade, syrup, chutney, shortcake, cookies, ever tried pickled peaches? Yumm. Add them to yogurt, oatmeal, brandied peaches, etc.

Dave

Oh yeah, and then there is Rumtopf!

Rumtopf

I used Wild Turkey whiskey. Super good.

I'm thinking sam, like me, is not a canner so much as a boiling water bath canner which usually has limited shelf life.

Dave, you have given one piece of advice on this forum many times and I have learned to appreciate it. Basically you have often said that simple is good. If you keep things simple you have more options and can always doctor them up later in a variety of ways. Although it was fun experimenting with different recipes at first I couldn't keep up with the flow and have begun just peeling, chopping or slicing and measuring produce as fast as I can. I have been combining your advice with Mary's above and freezing the results for later. Have learned a lot this year and hope next year to cope with the abundance better.