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Wednesday, March 02, 2016

Thinning Peaches and way to use the thinned baby peaches

Dear Folks,

I decided to start doing some mini lessons on my youtube channel.  I started the channel some years ago but never got going because the camera was not my friend :-)

Since the first video I put up there, I have gotten far more comfortable taking stills which I use here on the blog and elsewhere and finally got more comfortable doing some video work.

I hope you find these helpful.

Thinning Peaches.  This has always been a chore for us because it made us so sad to pick off fruit we worked so hard to create a healthy environment for a happy tree.

Then I went looking for something to do with the thinned peaches and one of the folks over at the Valley Permaculture Alliance posted a recipe for pickling the baby peaches.  It works because the pit is not formed in the less than marble size fruit, so you get a kind of "crunchy olive".  The flavor is neutral so whatever liquids and spices you use will give you the flavor.

They were fun to make and eat.

Catherine's Lesson - Thinning Peaches

Powell Gammill's original post in 2012 that got me trying pickling the baby peaches.  Such a great "recycle" of what otherwise winds up compost.

The recipe I revised for my try at this.


In the picture I show using a toothpick to prick each peach.

PICKLED BABY PEACHES
[Pricking each peach is important to the pickling process.]  Can be used for any similar fruit which is routinely thinned, such as apricots.

5 Cups baby peaches (green almonds, apricots, probably baby oranges if you wanted to try them)
4 cups of vinegar
1 1/2 cups of honey
4 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of cloves
3 bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons of coriander seed.


Rinse, de-stem and prick each peach from stem end almost through to the other end.

Bring vinegar, honey, sugar and cloves to almost a boil to completely dissolve honey and sugar.  Place peaches in a jar big enough to hold - or 2-3 smaller jars if you choose (I used a half-gallon mason).  Divide cinnamon, bay leaves and coriander seeds between jars if using multiples.  Pour heated vinegar solution in jars, make sure the peaches are covered - they float.  Cap and keep in a cooler place. Turn or shake the jars each day.  Steep for 4 weeks.  Once you open the jar(s) you will need to refrigerate them.


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

My husband thinned the tree with bigger fruit. They are small, but they have softened and a little sour. Looking for ideas how to use them.

Catherine, The Herb Lady said...

If you mean the peaches you picked off to thin, yes they will be sour - it may not be too late to try the recipe in the post for pickling them. You can also use a simple brine and let sit for the same time period and see what you think of the taste.