Chai Spiced Peaches

A tasty and delicious chai spiced peaches recipe! These taste fantastic, and they are super easy to make. Instructions for preservation are included. You’ll definitely want to make this recipe, as it’s a necessity for an upcoming peach cobbler recipe we will be sharing!) 

 

When I was growing up, and I would mention something about one of my Grandpas to my friend Cortney, she would ask, “Peaches Grandpa or Ice Cream Grandpa?”

Ice Cream Grandpa is my dad’s father. The first Sunday of every month (since my dad was a kid), he would make homemade ice cream for all the family. Sometimes I would bring a friend with me, and it’s kind of what he was “famous” for.

Peaches Grandpa is my mom’s father. I guess when he came a few times, and Cortney was over, he brought peaches, and it’s how she remembered him! My Grandpa actually does can tons of peaches every year, so it’s probably a good nickname.

I actually forgot that he did this until we went to visit him this last July. Right before we left, he pulled out a jar of peaches, and Jack and I couldn’t get enough. He’s really perfected how he does it, and they tasted so delicious.

We decided we wanted to can some peaches this summer, even though everyone kept telling us how time-consuming it was! We waited until they were on sale for 99 cents a pound at our local grocery store. I mentioned to my friend Kathleen, from Fearlessly Creative Mammas, that we were going to be canning peaches, and she gave me a few tips that made the process SO much easier. So, I thought I’d share a few of those (thank her though. I would have probably spent hours peeling the peaches otherwise!)

We also decided to use a lower-sugar syrup, since peaches are so sweet anyways, as well as a chai spice seasoning. Forrest loves the flavor of chai things (though we don’t drink tea.) We found a chai spice blend at Target a few months ago, and we used it in this recipe. It was about $5, but it will last for a long time. If you can’t find that, though, here’s a great DIY Chai blend – you probably have all the seasonings in your pantry already!

So for this recipe, you can either cut down the proportions I mentioned in the original recipe if you are only wanting to make enough to store in your fridge for a short time, or you can use it for canning! We used our Auto Canner (best invention ever), and if you happen to have one of those, you’ll just need to press Fruits, and then recipe number 5. Otherwise, you’ll need to use a water bath – and you can find instructions for that here.

Here are a few basic tips for preparing these peaches. I described these in the instructions above, but this may be helpful for the more visual learners! Make sure you use ripe peaches that aren’t soft or browning in spots!

Wash peaches thoroughly.

Place five peaches at a time into a pot of boiling water for no more that 20 seconds.

Immediately plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water for about 2 minutes.

The skins should peel right off!

Slice peaches and place in a bowl.

Boil sugar and water until sugar dissolves. Bring down to low heat.

Add one layer of peaches at a time and heat until warm.

If you are canning, pack the peaches into each jar, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. If you aren’t preserving them, place into a bowl or container that has an air-tight lid.

If canning, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of chai seasoning on top of peaches. If you aren’t preserving, mix about 1 teaspoon in with the peaches for every 1 1/2 – 2 cups of peaches

If preserving the peaches, ladle some of the syrup in until it reaches 1/2″ of headspace as well. If not preserving, ladle some of the syrup into the container you will be refrigerating. 

Either refrigerate or preserve using desired method!