Several years ago, I had a lot of peaches. I sliced like you did and sugared them. I didn't measure the sugar, just used enough to get on all the peaches. I froze them in those pint freezer bags with the twist ties (told you it was a long time ago). They were good for years! They won't have the same texture as fresh, but they are great for baking and cooking. You can even make jam later. If you have one of the "Food Savers", I would get the quart bags and fill them about 1/2 to 3/4 full and freeze upright without sealing. After they are froze, then seal.

Here's a link to the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), the recognized authority for safely preserving foods. It's their info on freezing peaches. It recommends sprinkling the fruit with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to avoid darkening and discoloration. (I know Annie often crushes Vit C tabs and uses that in some of her prep.) You could also use a product called Fruit Fresh, but it's more expensive.

Mom froze peaches in a simple syrup solution w/ Fruit Fresh added. (She used milk cartons for freezer containers and used a loose wad of waxed paper on top to keep the peaches submerged in the solution while they were freezing.) Fruit Fresh is ascorbic acid and sugar. Much cheaper to use Vitamin C or bulk ascorbic/ citric acid, as Shambo said. I buy citric acid in bulk to use instead of Lemi-Shine in my dishwasher.

The peaches were delicious. So yummy to eat just barely defrosted with some ice crystals remaining. Almost like a sorbet. Mom also made a lot of cobblers with the frozen peaches.

(Peaches are super easy to peel if you dunk them briefly in boiling water. The skins will slip off just like tomato skins do.)

Recyled paper milk/ cream/ half n' half cartons make great freezer containers. I mostly use them for freezing chicken broth. The price is right and the square shape makes for efficient use of freezer space. I staple the tops closed with an Ace Clipper pliers stapler and label them w/ a Sharpie. (Label before filling because Sharpies don't work on wet cartons...I usually chill chkn broth so I can remove the fat before freezing and condensation almost immediately forms on the outside of the carton.)

I just put a half bushel in the freezer. I dunk them in boiling water, peel, slice into a bowl of cold water with a couple of crushed Vitamin C tablets mixed in. Cheap, easily obtainable, and it works great and adds no flavor. Into ziplock bags and then the freezer, they'll last at least a year. Fast, simple and versatile, and I don't add sugar at all, because sometimes I want them plain.

Annie

I take some sliced peeled fresh peaches, some white sugar, and cornstarch and put the all in a pot. I heat them through and stir until the sugar is dissolved. It's great for a pancake topping, or just eat a bowl of it with icecream!

Thank you all.. as I mentioned, it has been years since I had enough fruit to do this but with all your ideas, I now do remember some of them! I found some 'fresh fruit' powder way back on the pantry shelf but since I had already added the sugar, I decided to make the first cobbler from that. I found a box of what I thought were empty canning jars under the bed (no basement!) ..... but discovered it was full of jars of jam/jelly from (don't laugh!) 2006!!! Was going to toss the whole box, jars, jelly & out but out of curiosity I opened one! It looked as if it had just been made & tasted great! Can you believe this?!

On my grandparents Iowa farm, years ago the basement shelves were full o the jars of beautiful canned items my grandmother had 'put up' that summer as that was before anyone had freezers.

I also skim the fat off the Thanksgiving chicken/turkey broth I put in the refr. to get cold & save the nutritious 'jell' to use later!

Yes, I can believe jelly from 2006 would still be OK to eat, depending on the type. Fruit spreads will lose their flavor after several years, and the higher in sugar, the longer they last! My shelves are filling up now, as it's canning season. I just canned stew tomatoes, pear butter, plum sauce and green beans. More pears are ripening on the porch....

Annie

Oh annie,beautiful shelves of your canning! I had may be thought that canning was something of the past like so many of the 'old days but so happy to hear it isn't.

So many of the 'old days' are still being kept alive but wonder how many of the younger generation will keep these things up?

The jars from 2006 were of concord grape, pomegranate, plum jam .... the days when I had more energy! So glad to see that our WalMart still carries the canning jars, lids, etc. so guess there are still people canning!

Annie, after you slice the peaches into the water that has the Vit C in it, do you then lift them out of the water and drain them before freezing? I can't quite figure out what you do next.

Here's a link to our Peach Cookalong a few years ago. There are lots of good recipes for using up your peaches now or in the future.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2441821/cookalong-32-peaches?n=43

Boy, thanks for pulling up that old thread Ruthanna! Peaches are my fave fruit.

Yes, laceyvail, I dip them out with a "spider" and drain them, then package them up. One year I spread them out onto sheet pans so they would be individually frozen, but found that I seldom use part of a package, I'll more likely use two packages!

The Vitamin C/ascorbic acid keeps oxidation at bay and keeps my peaches nicely peach-colored.

Annie