Peach Scrap Syrup

With peach season in full swing, and my canning shelves filling up with all kinds of peach recipes, I tend to have a lot of peach scraps on hand! And while I know I can just throw them into the compost bin, you know I love to waste as little as possible, so let’s make a peach scrap syrup from the offcuts, pits, and skins of peaches we’re prepping!

This syrup is great for so many things, but my favorite is to use it to make seasonal cocktails- they are absolutely delicious! Plus, this is an easy recipe to water bath can, so we can save that syrup for a taste of summer in the middle of winter! Note: you can also freeze this, however, because of the sugar content it does not freeze solid!

Prepping Peaches

For most canning recipes you need to remove the peach skin. The easiest way to do this is to remove the stem and then to score a shallow X in the bottom of the peach. However, if you notice your skins sticking, scoring an extra X on the stem end too can be helpful.

Then we drop the scored peaches one at a time into a pot of boiling water until the base of the pot is full (I tend to avoid stacking!) and blanch the peaches for thirty seconds. We then use a slotted spoon and drop them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process and shock the skin into wanting to easily peel off!

Then peel each peach’s skin off and save.

Depending on the recipe you’re using your peaches for, you can either use your fingers to dig the peach pit out or use a knife. Either way, save the pits too. And if you end up with any peach offcuts because of a bruise, those can be saved with the scraps too!

Peach Scrap Syrup Method

Ingredients

Peach Scrap Liquid
Sugar
Lemon Juice

Now, this next bit is less of a ‘recipe’ and more of a process. You’ll take all of the peach scraps that you’ve saved and pop them into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Then cover the scraps with water.

We will turn on the heat to medium low and just let simmer. I start with a small batch, and as I’m working, I add more peach scraps to the pot until it can’t hold any more. However, you can absolutely just use the batch you started with!

Let this steep for at least thirty minutes, but I find the longer you let it simmer (up to an hour) the more depth the peach scrap syrup will have. However, if you’re adding scraps as you’re working, I’d aim to simmer no longer than an hour and a half! We want to extract the peach flavor, not start to break down the peach pits!

Let the peach scraps cool and then, working in batches, pour into a sieve and use a spatula to press the peach scraps so they release their liquid. The amount of liquid that comes out varies greatly depending on the types of scraps you used.

Measure the amount of liquid you’ve gathered, pour the liquid back into the (cleaned) saucepan, and then add the same volume of sugar to the pan. For each cup of liquid gathered I add in a teaspoon of lemon juice.

Bring this to a boil, stir until the sugar is dissolved, and let simmer until it is the thickness that you’d like.

Storing Peach Scrap Syrup

You can use this syrup immediately. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.

Freezing will last you for about six months, however, just note that because of the sugar content these don’t freeze in hardened cubes. It will be more of a slush consistency, so just be aware of that when you are choosing a container!

I personally use this as a water bath canning recipe. Because water bath canning is all about pH, and this is a method instead of a set recipe, make sure you use pH testing strips to make sure that the pH of your syrup is under 4.6. Most peaches (excluding white-fleshed peaches) have a pH between 3.3 to 4.0 so they are slightly acidic and safe to can. We also add lemon juice to bring down this pH even more, but when it comes to canning, safer is better!

So, after testing, leave ½-inch headspace, process for 15 minutes (adjusting for altitude if needed) and let sit for five before removing from your canner and leaving for 12-24 hours for the seals to set.