Canning Prep

• Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You just need to have enough water to cover the jars by 2 inches once the water is boiling.
• Set the canner on the stove. Turn the burner to high. Once it reaches a boil, reduce it to simmer. You want to keep the water hot so that everything is ready when the peaches are.
• Wash and sanitize your jars. You’ll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 200 degrees F.
• Wash your lids and set aside in clean place. You no longer need to simmer lids in water to keep them sterile. Woot!
• Use a paring knife and cut the peach around the middle to separate. Remove the pit. Put the halves in a large bowl of water treated with lemon juice or citric acid. 
• In a medium-sized pot, combine your sugar/honey/or juice and water to create the syrup. Pro tip: if you're planning to do a large batch of peaches all at once, I use my crockpot to create and keep the syrup hot. It frees up space on the stove.
• Add one layer of peaches at a time to a pot of boiling water for about 60 seconds. Once you can see the skin starting to come away from the flesh, it’s time to take them out. Remove using a slotted spoon and place in an ice bath for 1 minute.
• Use the slotted spoon to remove the peaches from the ice bath. Grab one of the peaches and gently peel the skin back.
• Proceed using either the raw pack or hot pack method mentioned in the post.
• Add the peaches cavity-side (where the pit was) to your sanitized and warm canning jars. This is easiest done with a fork. Repeat with other peach halves until you have filled the jar. Pro tip: depending on the size of the peaches, each quart will fit about 3-3.5 peaches.
• At this point, return your water in the canner back to a rolling boil.
• Using a canning funnel, ladle hot syrup into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Headspace is the distance between the top of the food and the top of the jar. You may need to use a spoon to smoosh down the peaches a bit.
• Using a long utensil (I prefer a plastic chopstick), remove all the air bubbles from the jar.
• Clean the rim of the jar very well with a hot damp rag.
• Place a clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.
• Gently place your jars in the canner. Put the lid on, and set your timer. Pints should process for 20 minutes, and quarts for 25. Pro tip: the water must return to a boil in the canner before you can start the timer.
• Once the peaches have processed for the appropriate amount of time, remove the canner from the burner, carefully take off the lid, and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes. Pro tip: I tend to just slide it into the middle of my stove, as it weighs a ton.
• Carefully remove the jars, and place them on a thick towel in a place where they can be undisturbed for 12 hours. The lids should start to pop within 20-30 minutes of being removed from the water.
• That popping sound is music to your ears, as it tells you that everything has sealed. It’s a reward for all your work.
• After the jars have rested for about 12 hours, press down in the middle of each lid. If it "gives" at all, the jar didn't seal. Either enjoy it that day, put it in the fridge, or reprocess it.