Today, more on cherishing the end of summer.
I couldn’t have been happier to see peaches still at market last Sunday – a variety of them appropriately named “Encore,” and of course thanks to the best – Three Springs. After missing market for three weeks for various reasons, I was worried I had missed that last call for peaches, but gratefully I was able to snatch a bag-full of the last ones.
While I think that there is not much better than eating a sliced, fresh peach, I’ve recently gotten into freezing the juicy summer stone fruit. Greg and I drink smoothies most mornings and because of that, frozen fruit is an always on-hand item in our freezer. Naturally, having a freezer full of Three Springs peaches makes me happier than having a freezer full of generic grocery store fruit, so freezing peaches it was! It does require a tiny bit more work than buying grocery store fruit, but not too much work, I promise! (It’s worth the effort!)
I don’t know why freezing peaches seemed like such a mystery to me for such a long time. I’ve done much reading, research and experimentation over the summer and today I’m going to share with you what I’ve found. What works for me, and what is the simplest process out there. There is no peeling, blanching or measuring in the process that I use. It’s a simple as just washing, slicing and freezing! So as simple as this post sounds (how hard is it to freeze peaches?), I thought it’d be worth sharing in case there is anyone out there like me. And even though this is the first week of fall, I have a feeling that I am not the only one with a fridge full of summer to preserve.
{Keep in mind – I’m freezing peaches mainly for making smoothies. Maybe I’ll use them for a dessert or for muffin making at some point during the winter, but my main use will be for smoothies. If your main use for them would be much different than for smoothies, I would suggest doing further research for your specific desires.}
- Fresh peaches
- Baking sheet(s)
- Parchment paper
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Gallon freezer bags
- Start with fresh, preferably local peaches. Wash the peaches thoroughly. I just use good old fashioned water to wash my fruit! Let peaches dry.
- Prepare your peach freezing station. Line a baking sheet (or several baking sheets, depending on how many peaches you are freezing) with parchment paper. Plan for about 4 peaches per baking sheet, of course depending on the size of your peaches and baking sheets. Slice the peaches. I leave the skins on. I don't mind the slight texture the peach skins add to my smoothies.
- Evenly arrange peach slices on baking sheet(s). It is important that the slices are not touching. Line them up with a bit of room between each slice.
- Once baking sheet(s) are full, place in freezer for up to 24 hours, or until peaches are frozen. I usually leave the baking sheets in the freezer for a full 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, remove baking sheets from freezer and let peaches sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. This will make peaches slightly easier to work with. Transfer peaches from baking sheets to gallon-sized freezer bags. I usually do one baking sheet per bag.
- Seal bag tightly, with as little air left in the bag as possible and place in freezer!
- Once the bag is empty, I wash it out, let it dry and reuse it for my next batch!