Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia / USDA-derived guidance)
Safety reviewed: 09/13/2026
Processing details
Source & provenance
Safety classification: Tested recipe from NCHFP.
Safety summary
Do not use fresh lemon juice, mechanically aerate fruit, change proportions, omit the simmer, or use larger jars.
Processing details
- Method
- Boiling Water
- Pack style
- Hot
- Jar sizes
- Pint Jars
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
- Processing time
- 15 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 20 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 25 minutes above 6,000 ft.
Tested source
Safety status: Tested authoritative recipe. Follow the NCHFP source exactly.
Canning timeline
- Prepare jars and a boiling-water canner.
- Mash ripe yellow peaches by hand, combine with exact sugar and bottled lemon juice, and simmer 5 minutes.
- Fill half-pints or pints, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- 15 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 20 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 25 minutes above 6,000 ft.
- Cool undisturbed 12 to 24 hours and check seals.
Equipment
Boiling-water canner, nonreactive saucepan or stockpot, preparation tools, jar lifter, and half-pints or pints.
Visual method guide
- Prepare: Use sound produce and exact measured ingredients.
- Pack: Hot pack; maintain 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process: Keep jars covered by boiling water and use the altitude schedule.
- Cool: Leave jars upright and undisturbed.
Safety essentials
Do not use fresh lemon juice, mechanically aerate fruit, change proportions, omit the simmer, or use larger jars.
About this recipe
Peach Fruit Topping is a tested NCHFP boiling-water home-canning recipe using hot pack.
Before you begin
- Method
- Boiling-water canning
- Pack
- Hot pack
- Jar size
- Half-pints or pints
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
Altitude and processing schedule
15 minutes at 0–1,000 ft; 20 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft; 25 minutes above 6,000 ft.
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Peach Fruit Topping — NCHFP
Ingredients
- 8 cups mashed ripe yellow Georgia peaches about 6 to 6.25 lb as purchased
- 3 cups sugar
- 4 tbsp bottled lemon juice
- 1 tsp ascorbic acid granules for 4 quarts water, anti-darkening soak
Equipment
- Boiling-water canner
Directions
- Prepare hot half-pint or pint jars and lids. Make anti-darkening soak with 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid granules in 4 quarts water.
- Wash and peel peaches, using a 30-to-60-second boiling-water dip if needed to loosen skins. Halve, pit, slice, and hold in anti-darkening solution.
- Drain slices and mash with a potato masher. Do not use a blender or food processor because they incorporate unwanted air.
- Measure 8 cups mashed peaches into a Dutch oven. Stir in sugar and bottled lemon juice. Bring to a full boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes while stirring.
- Fill hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Process half-pints or pints 15 minutes at 0–1,000 ft, 20 minutes at 1,001–6,000 ft, or 25 minutes above 6,000 ft.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Serve as appropriate for the preserved fruit, or use in breakfast dishes, desserts, sauces, and baking after opening.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by NCHFP. Do not use fresh lemon juice, mechanically aerate fruit, change proportions, omit the simmer, or use larger jars.
What if a jar does not seal?
Refrigerate promptly, or reprocess within 24 hours using a new lid and the complete tested process when permitted.
How this recipe compares
This is a spoonable fruit topping, not a jam or plain canned-peach pack.
Troubleshooting
Mash by hand rather than using a blender or food processor.
Discard jars showing leakage, bulging, spurting, mold, or other spoilage. Never taste to determine safety.
Source & provenance
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Peach Fruit Topping.
Garden planning for this recipe
Plant, space, variety, zone, and timing estimates live on dedicated ingredient pages:
Typical canning season
Season: Summer, Fall
Months: July, August, September
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
25–50 lb of Tree fruit per person per year
This is an annual planning range that includes preserving and typical fresh use. Plant, row-foot, and square-foot estimates are shown only when compatible cited yield or spacing data is available.
Garden yields vary by cultivar, climate, soil, pests, and care. Always measure the exact prepared ingredient amount required by the tested canning recipe.