Monday, June 30, 2014

Mom's Peach Peel Jelly

After we pick and peel our peaches

Summer Peaches in Vintage Pink Pyrex

...to make our summer Peach favorites 
such as Peaches and Cream Cake...

Peaches and Cream Cake recipe can be found in The Cake Mix Doctor, one of my favorite
cookbooks. I love all of her recipes. (affiliate link)



Or maybe these peach recipes :

Peach Recipes from Southern Girl Ramblings
Or 

30 Fabulous Peach Recipes from Eat Drink Eat
Or 

35 Peach Recipes from Lady Behind the Curtain

I do something yummy my mother-in-law taught me.  I  make jelly from my saved peach peelings and peach pits.  She was born in 1929, so she knew all about resourcefulness and feeding your family with what we now throw in the compost pile. 


You need saved peelings from 3 to 4 quarts of peaches.  I throw all mine into a bag and place in the freezer until I'm ready to make my Peach Peel Jelly.  You can add some lemon juice to your bag to keep the peelings from going brown. 

 

Eat, freeze or bake your peaches up first.  You can get to the peelings and pits later.  They will be fine waiting in the freezer. 

I am only posting this pic to share my love of pink  Pyrex.  It makes me happy.
(affiliate link)

This is super easy, just use your common sense.  It can be hard to explain because there is no exact science. Place your peach pits and peelings in a large pot.  Cover the peelings with water.  This part you have to eye ball. You don't want too much water or too little.  Just cover the peelings.  The goal is to end up with (at least) 3 to 4 Cups of juice by the end of this process. Are we clear?  (Feel free to ask questions below in the comments section if I wasn't clear)  


Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Turn the heat down to simmer for 30 minutes.  Don't leave because you don't want all your water to boil away and you don't want burnt peaches on the bottom.  Remove from heat, cover and cool over night allowing the peach mush to stew.  

Next, you're going to strain your juice from all the cooked down peelings and pits. You can use Strainers.  I prefer using my mother-in-law's trusty old Chinois which I use frequently when canning. We would also run our juice one last time through some Cheesecloth.  If you don't have a Canning Kit, you'll need one.  They are very useful.  You can make it without these items, but you'll find it more difficult. (these are Amazon Affiliate links)

You can get these items from Amazon
(affiliate) with free shipping if you're Prime  or you can make do  with what you have on hand.  If you plan on doing a lot of preserving in the future, Canning Equipment is always a good investment.  You'll use it forever.  I use mine. ALL. THE. TIME.      

Ewww...I SWEAR it looks better in real life.  
I tried a billion times to get a good photo of the juice.  My camera didn't like it.  It always came out brown or dirty.  NOT SO.  It's a lovely shade of peachy/melon/coral (like the photo below).  Peach peel jelly has a gorgeous, amber, jewel toned, rich, GLORIOUS, pink color.  Plus I think it tastes better than regular peach jelly.  Some how all the pits and peel make a good strong juice with a delicious flavor.  You're gonna love it. 

You will follow the peach jelly (not peach jam) recipe on your Pectin box.  Ta-da!  That's it.  

This is actually a good picture of what it will look like.  It is NOT my photo.  I found it on Pinterest and her photo is WAY better than mine.  Go over to her blog, say hello and see how she makes hers.  

Prepared, not scared, Peach Peel Jelly

Trouble shooting:  
1.  I have always, always found it easier to can with the help of at least one other person.  I can do it alone, but someone else helping me, makes working faster a lot easier.  It's up to you. Some people prefer to work a lone and that's fine. Whatever it takes.  

2.  IF, IF, IF....you make your jelly too thin, like I did one year.....no worries.  You now have peach pancake syrup.  Enjoy!  

Mom's Peach Peel Jelly

OH!  And if you like canning, try my mother-in-law's Green Tomato Relish (AKA Chow Chow)

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Have you ever tasted Peach Peel Jelly? 

I hope you've found this helpful.  Please ask any questions you have and I'll try to answer.  Be inspired to be resourceful.  Right now I'm experimenting with cucumber peelings. :)  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thank you for following Sweet Woodruffs over on the right side of the blog.  ------------>

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Pooh says, "Peach Jelly smells good.  Now smell my feet."


Sharing with these SWEET Blogs:

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Miz Helen's Country Cottage ~ Full Plate Thursday
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Share Your Cup With Jann ~ Share Your Cup Thursday
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The Shady Porch ~ Organize, Create, Feast and Fix
All Things with Purpose ~ Things Thursday Link
Katherines Corner ~ Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
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Marigolds Loft ~ Tutorial Thursdays Linky Party

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome! I have never had peach peel jelly but what a great way to reuse and recycle. Love it!!

Andrea @ Mouse in My Pocket said...

This is a great idea. I hope to give this a try once we get some ripe peaches.

deb @ frugal little bungalow said...

this is so interesting. I have made peach jam and peach / strawberry jam and stone fruit jam...but never heard of making anything from the pits and peelings :)

Sweet Woodruff said...

Deb, it even tastes better than regular peach jelly. I think the peelings and pits pull together a stronger, more extracted flavor. Give it a try. :)

Shannon @ Of The Hearth said...

I love that this uses the peels and pits...things you'd generally throw away. What a fantastic idea!

Unknown said...

I love peach jelly!! Thanks for including my round of peach recipes too, my favorite time of year :)

Amber said...

I LOVE this idea!! One question, though: What about the fuzz? Do you scrub it off before peeling or does it get strained out in the cheesecloth?
I have lots of peaches that we just picked and I can't wait to try this! Thanks!

Sweet Woodruff said...

Amber, I hope you see this. I might try to reach you through email to answer your question. but YES, you do wash your peaches before peeling. Or at least we always do. I hope you'll let me know how this works out for you. I'm dying to hear from some one how it worked for them.

Miz Helen said...

Oh my goodness, I haven't seen this recipe in years. My Grandmother made Peach Peal Jelly, I can't wait to try it! Hope you have had a great weekend and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Wow, who would have known that you could make yummy jelly from your peelings. Very resourceful! I have pink Pyrex like that and love it too. Kitty is too cute! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann

Miz Helen said...

Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you enjoy your weekend and your new Red Plate!
Miz Helen

Amber said...

Michal, I tried it tonight and it was WONDERFUL! So tasty and beautiful! I made two batches already and have enough for one more. (Told ya I have a LOT of peaches!) Thanks for the idea and instructions.

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