Recipes & Preserving

What to make with a full bucket of fruit — a few favorites for eating fresh, plus tested methods for canning, jam, freezing, and drying so the harvest lasts through winter.

Fresh & Baked Canning Jam Freezing & Drying

Fresh & Baked

Simple ways to use fruit within the first few days, while it's at its best.

Serves 6–8

Peach (or Nectarine) Cobbler

Filling:

  • 6–7 cups sliced peaches or nectarines (peeling optional)
  • 2/3 cup sugar, adjust to sweetness of fruit
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch or flour
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 6 tbsp cold butter (cubed), 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk.

  1. Heat oven to 375°F. Toss fruit with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and cinnamon; spread in a greased 9x13 baking dish.
  2. Cut butter into the dry topping ingredients until crumbly, stir in milk just until combined, and drop spoonfuls over the fruit.
  3. Bake 35–45 minutes, until the topping is golden and the filling bubbles at the edges. Cool 15 minutes before serving.
Serves 8

Plum & Nectarine Galette

  • 1 disc pie dough (store-bought or homemade), chilled
  • 3–4 plums and 1–2 nectarines, sliced thin
  • 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tbsp for the crust
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 egg, beaten (for the egg wash)
  1. Heat oven to 400°F. Roll dough into a rough 12-inch circle on parchment paper.
  2. Toss fruit with sugar and cornstarch; pile in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border.
  3. Fold the border up and over the fruit, pleating as you go. Brush crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
  4. Bake 35–40 minutes until the crust is deep golden and juices are bubbling. Cool slightly before slicing.
Makes 1 quart

Apricot & Nectarine Salsa

  • 2 cups diced apricots, 1 cup diced nectarine
  • 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • Salt to taste

Combine everything and let sit 15 minutes before serving so the flavors meld. Excellent on grilled chicken or pork, or with tortilla chips. Best eaten fresh within a day — this is not a preserved recipe.

Water-Bath Canning

Peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums are all high-acid fruits, which makes them safe for water-bath (boiling water) canning — no pressure canner required.

Follow tested times exactly. Processing times below are the standard boiling-water-canner times published by the USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation (nchfp.uga.edu) for elevations of 0–1,000 ft. If your kitchen is above 1,000 ft, add processing time per the standard altitude chart: +5 min at 1,001–3,000 ft, +10 min at 3,001–6,000 ft, +15 min at 6,001–8,000 ft. When in doubt, check NCHFP directly — times below are a starting reference, not a substitute for it.
Hot Pack

Canned Peaches, Nectarines & Apricots

All three can be canned the same way, halved or sliced, pitted, and peeled if desired (peeling is optional for nectarines and apricots; a quick blanch in boiling water for 30–60 seconds makes peach skins slip off easily).

  1. Halve and pit fruit. To slow browning, hold cut fruit in water with a splash of lemon juice or a commercial ascorbic acid mix until ready to pack.
  2. Bring fruit to a boil in water, juice, or light syrup, then simmer 5 minutes (hot pack).
  3. Pack hot fruit into clean, hot jars, cavity side down, covering with the hot cooking liquid and leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
  4. Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims clean, and apply lids and rings to fingertip tightness.
  5. Process in a boiling-water canner: pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes (0–1,000 ft; see altitude note above).
  6. Remove jars, cool undisturbed 12–24 hours, then check that lids have sealed before storing.

Raw pack (unheated fruit packed directly into jars with hot liquid) is also possible but produces softer, lower-quality fruit; raw pack times run about 5 minutes longer per jar size.

Hot or Raw Pack

Canned Plums

Whole or halved and pitted. Whole plums hold their shape better; pricking the skin of whole plums helps prevent splitting.

  1. For hot pack: bring plums to a boil in water or syrup, then simmer 2 minutes, cover, and let stand 20–30 minutes before packing hot into jars.
  2. For raw pack: pack raw plums into jars and cover with boiling water or syrup.
  3. Leave 1/2 inch headspace, remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and apply lids and rings to fingertip tightness.
  4. Process in a boiling-water canner: pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes (0–1,000 ft; hot or raw pack).
  5. Cool undisturbed 12–24 hours and check seals before storing.

Jams & Preserves

Cooked jam, processed in a boiling-water bath for shelf-stable storage.

Makes about 6 half-pints

Apricot Jam

  • 4 cups crushed, pitted apricots (skins on is fine)
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 box (1.75 oz) powdered pectin, if using — or cook longer for a pectin-free set
  1. Combine fruit and lemon juice (and pectin, if using) in a wide, heavy pot. Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly.
  2. Add sugar all at once, return to a full rolling boil, and boil hard 1 minute (with pectin) or until the jam sheets off a cold spoon (without pectin, this can take 20–30 minutes).
  3. Ladle hot jam into clean, hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and apply lids and rings to fingertip tightness.
  4. Process in a boiling-water canner 10 minutes at 0–1,000 ft, adjusting for altitude as above.
Makes about 6 half-pints

Plum Jam

  • 4 cups pitted, chopped plums (skins on)
  • 3–4 cups sugar, depending on the plums' tartness
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  1. Combine plums and lemon juice in a wide, heavy pot and bring to a boil, mashing fruit as it softens.
  2. Add sugar, return to a boil, and cook, stirring often, until thickened and the jam sheets off a cold spoon — 20–30 minutes.
  3. Ladle hot jam into clean, hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and apply lids and rings to fingertip tightness.
  4. Process in a boiling-water canner 10 minutes at 0–1,000 ft, adjusting for altitude as above.

Freezing & Drying

No canner needed — good options if you just want fruit on hand for smoothies, baking, or snacking.

Freezing Sliced Fruit

  1. Wash, pit, and slice peaches, nectarines, apricots, or plums.
  2. Toss slices with a little lemon juice or an ascorbic-acid mix to prevent browning.
  3. Spread slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid (a few hours).
  4. Transfer to freezer bags or containers, pressing out excess air. Label with the fruit and date.

Frozen fruit keeps its best quality for about 8–12 months. Great for smoothies, pies, and baking straight from frozen.

Drying Stone Fruit

  1. Wash, pit, and slice fruit about 1/4 inch thick (leave apricot halves a bit thicker, cut side up).
  2. Optional: dip slices briefly in a lemon-juice-and-water solution to help retain color.
  3. Arrange in a single layer on dehydrator trays and dry at 135°F until pliable and leathery with no pockets of moisture — typically 8–20 hours depending on fruit and slice thickness.
  4. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container. Check jars for condensation over the first few days and re-dry if any moisture appears.