This is a guest post from a reader named Sophie. A world traveller, Sophie has made it her mission to live the frugal life. Her challenge has been living the frugal whilst travelling. And so, she's been freelancing about her frugal living food adventures all throughout the world.
Peaches are a great snack to keep in your fruit basket but they get bruised and have a pretty limited amount of countertop time. In general food practices like eating fresh fruit are delicious and healthy but require constant time and cash consuming upkeep in the form on constant grocery store upkeep. I prefer to strike when the iron is hot price wise and hoard non-perishables for a little self-sufficiency and of course, self-efficiency!
So what’s a good compromise with peaches?
Preserves, my friends. Poached peaches make a delicious dessert on their own or with a pastry, and you can always add a little something extra during the poaching process for a little extra flavor. Here’s a great recipe for making your own poached peaches.
You’ll need:
6 ripe but firm freestone peaches
500 ml (2 cups) water
250 ml (1 cup) sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 vanilla bean
Steps
1.) Make an cross shaped cut at the bottom of every peach. Bring a pot of water to boiling and drop the peaches in together for about 15 second seconds, then drain the water. Quickly add ice cold water to stop the peaches from overcooking. Once they’ve cooled off, peel the peaches, then halve them and remove the pits.
2.) Split the vanilla down the middle and then scrape the seeds out with a knife or other sharp implement.
3.) Now take a suitably large saucepan, and place into it your vanilla pod and seeds, half-liter of water, cup of sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to boil, and then add the peach halves. Bring to a boil again, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes (you may need more or less time depending on the ripeness of the peaches you’ve chosen), then let everything cool down in the syrup you’ve made. Now be careful with the length of time in the last step here, as the peaches will overcook as they’re cooling down if you’ve left them simmering for too long. Move everything to a mason jar (or similar) and enjoy (or refrigerate).
Like I said, having a good stock of homemade snacks at home keeps you from impulsively buying food (and getting gouged). The bit of vanilla in this recipe really makes it special to me. Try it out for yourself!
To make this recipe a little healthier, you can use honey in the syrup instead of sugar.
What is your favorite peach recipe? Ever make poached peaches before? What I love about this recipe especially is that you can can them in a water bath can so you can enjoy your peaches even when they're not in season. How do you preserve your peaches?
See my disclaimer.
Peaches are a great snack to keep in your fruit basket but they get bruised and have a pretty limited amount of countertop time. In general food practices like eating fresh fruit are delicious and healthy but require constant time and cash consuming upkeep in the form on constant grocery store upkeep. I prefer to strike when the iron is hot price wise and hoard non-perishables for a little self-sufficiency and of course, self-efficiency!
So what’s a good compromise with peaches?
Preserves, my friends. Poached peaches make a delicious dessert on their own or with a pastry, and you can always add a little something extra during the poaching process for a little extra flavor. Here’s a great recipe for making your own poached peaches.
You’ll need:
6 ripe but firm freestone peaches
500 ml (2 cups) water
250 ml (1 cup) sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 vanilla bean
Steps
1.) Make an cross shaped cut at the bottom of every peach. Bring a pot of water to boiling and drop the peaches in together for about 15 second seconds, then drain the water. Quickly add ice cold water to stop the peaches from overcooking. Once they’ve cooled off, peel the peaches, then halve them and remove the pits.
2.) Split the vanilla down the middle and then scrape the seeds out with a knife or other sharp implement.
3.) Now take a suitably large saucepan, and place into it your vanilla pod and seeds, half-liter of water, cup of sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to boil, and then add the peach halves. Bring to a boil again, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 10 minutes (you may need more or less time depending on the ripeness of the peaches you’ve chosen), then let everything cool down in the syrup you’ve made. Now be careful with the length of time in the last step here, as the peaches will overcook as they’re cooling down if you’ve left them simmering for too long. Move everything to a mason jar (or similar) and enjoy (or refrigerate).
Like I said, having a good stock of homemade snacks at home keeps you from impulsively buying food (and getting gouged). The bit of vanilla in this recipe really makes it special to me. Try it out for yourself!
To make this recipe a little healthier, you can use honey in the syrup instead of sugar.
What is your favorite peach recipe? Ever make poached peaches before? What I love about this recipe especially is that you can can them in a water bath can so you can enjoy your peaches even when they're not in season. How do you preserve your peaches?
See my disclaimer.