Looking for How to Freeze Peaches, Plums, Figs, Nectarines and Cherries, Easily! With Step-by-step Directions, Photos and Recipes in 2024? Scroll down this page and follow the links.And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, makejam, salsa or pickles, see thispage for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preservingdirections. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above. If you are having a hard timefindingcanning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price &ship in 2 days.
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How to Freeze Peaches, Plums, Figs, Nectarines and Cherries, Easily! With Step-by-step Directions, Photos and Recipes
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If you like peaches, nectarines or plums in thewinter for cobblers, pies or just in a bowl; just imagine how good it wouldtaste if you had picked a couple of quarts fresh or bought a them from a farmstand and then quickly froze them at home! It is also one of the simplestways to put up a fruit for the winter. Here's how to do it, completeinstructions in easy steps and completely illustrated.
In the winter when you pull them from the freezer, the fruit will taste MUCHbetter than anything you've ever had from a store. You can also use littleor no sugar at all. Peaches,plums, cherries or nectarines can be packed in very light, light or medium sugarsyrup. They can also be packed in water, applejuice or white grape juice.
Prepared this way, the frozen fruit will have a freezer life of about 12months.
If you would rather can your fruit, see my pageon how to make home canned peachesfrom fresh! It is really SO easy! And here are somegreat and easy peach desert recipes!
Directions for Making Frozen Peaches, Plums, Cherries, Nectarines,Figs and Other Similar Soft Fruit
Ingredients and Equipment
- Fruit(see step 1)
- Jar funnel ($4 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)
- At least 1 large pot
- Large spoons and ladles,
- Ziploc freezer bags, quart size or a vacuum food sealer and bags forit.
- Sugar (or other sweetener: Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, , Nutrasweet, or fruit juice)
Recipe and Directions
Step 1 - Selecting the peaches, plums, cherries or nectarines
The most important step! You need peaches that are sweet, and tomake the work easier, cling-free (also called freestone). This meansthat the peach separates easily from the pit!Same with nectarines, and this doesn't apply to cherries or plums.
Choose ripe, mature fruit. They should not be mushy, but they also should not be rock hard: just asripe as you would eat them fresh. Green, unripe peaches will soften butwill not ripen, nor have the flavor of tree-ripe peaches.
After this step, I'll just refer to"peaches" but it applies to plums, cherries and nectarines.
Step 2 - How many peaches and where to get them
You can pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store. Forvery large quantities (more than a few bushels), you will find that real* farmer's markets, like theFarmer's Market in Forest Park, Georgia have them at the best prices.
It takes about 5 good sizes peaches or nectarines (orabout 10 plums) to make one quart or frozen peaches.
* - not the cutesy, fake farmer's marketsthat are just warehouse grocery stores that call themselves farmer'smarkets.
Step 3 - Prepare the sugar (or other sweetener) solution
Peaches must be packed in a solution of water and sugar or fruit juice.It's up to you which to use. Sugar is added to improve flavor,help stabilize color, and retain the shape of the fruit. You only needenough solution to cover the peaches; about 1 cup per quart. It is not addedas a preservative; but the solution does prevent drying, freezer burnand oxidation (browning). Peach, white grape or apple juice works greatand is a natural alternative to using processed sugar!
Type ofSyrup Sugar Water Yield Fruit juice (peach, apple or white grape) 0 0 4 cups Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, (2 cups) 0 6 cups 6 cups Light sugar 2 cups 6 cups 7 cups Medium sugar 3 cups 6 cups 7.2 cups Heavy sugar 4 cups 6 cups 7.4 cups 
Fruit juice syrup requires no preparation. To prepare sugar and Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, syrups, while heatingthe water in a pot on the stove (or microwave), add sugar slowly,stirring constantly to dissolve. Once it is dissolved remove it from theheat. After preparing the liquid syrup, let it coolbefore mixing it with the peaches!
Note: You can "dry pack" peaches and other stone fruits,and use not liquids or sugar. The results aren't as good, though, asthey are more subject to freezer burn and oxidation.
Step 4 -Wash the peaches!
I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the peaches in plaincold or lukewarm water.
Step 5 - Peeling the Peaches
Nope, we're not going to peel them by hand; that's way too much work.Instead, here's a great trick that works with many fruits and vegetableswith skins (like tomatoes): just dip the fruit in boiling water for 20 to 45seconds.
Remove from theboiling water using a slotted spoon and put intoa large bowl or pot of cold water and ice for several minutes
The skins will easily slide offnow!
Nectarines do not need to be peeled, if you don't mind the skins.Neither do peaches, but most people prefer them with skins off - they tend to beslimy after all this.
Step 6 - Cut up the peaches
Cut out any brown spots and mushy areas. Cut the peaches in half, orquarters or slices, as you prefer! Remove pits!
Step 7 - Prevent the fruit from darkening!
Peaches will turn brown when exposed to air, even air in a sealed,sterile jar. To keep the fruit from turning brown, when you get a bowlful,sprinkle 1/4 cup lemon juice or Fruit-Fresh (which is just a mix of citric acid and vitamin C, perfectly natural). Then stir the peaches to make sureall the surfaces have been coated.
Step 8 - Mix the peaches with the sweetener solution
In a large bowl, combine the peaches and sweetener solution. Mixcompletely.
Step 9 - Fill the bags and exclude air pockets
Ladle the peaches and solution into the freezer bags.
A. ZiplocBags
If you are using ziploc bags, squeeze out any air bubbles andseal them. put them in the freezer on the coldest shelf. Sincepeaches, nectarines, plums, figs, and other soft fruit will be coveredin a liquid, it is quite easy to remove all the air with a ziploc bag!Be sure to use the "freezer ziplocs", not the regular ones. Thefreezer ones are thicker and will be much less like to break, split orallow freezer burn. TIP: If you don't own a vacuum food sealer tofreeze foods, place food in a Ziploc bags, zip the top shut but leaveenough space to insert the tip of a soda straw. When straw is in place,remove air by sucking the air out. To remove straw, press straw closedwhere inserted and finish pressing the bag closed as you remove straw.
B. VacuumFood Sealer
If you are using a vacuum food sealer, stand the bagsupright on the shelves on the door of your freezer (so they don't spill)and allow them to freeze overnight (vacuum food sealers require liquidsto be frozen first, or they would be sucked into the pump!)
The nextday, take the bags out of the freezer, seal them and pop them back inthe freezer!
If any of the frozen peaches are exposed on thesurface, just pour a little more sugar syrup (or fruit juice, etc.) tocover them and put it back in the freezer. When that freezes, youcan seal them.
Photos above at right, from top to bottom:
- Peaches in foodsaver bags standing upright, unsealed,in the freezer; to be frozen.
- Peaches in a foodsaver bag waiting to be frozen then sealed
- Peaches in a ziplocbag with the air excluded, ready for the freezer.
Freezing keeps peaches safe to eat almost indefinitely, but therecommended maximum storage time of 12 months is best for taste and quality. Thequality of the frozen peaches is maintained best in a very cold freezer(deep freezer), and one that keeps them frozen completely with no thawcycles. Excluding any air from inside the bags which leads to freezer burn,by using vacuum-sealed bags, is also important to maintaining quality
Tips!
- To use them, just set them in the fridge overnight, or onthe counter for a couple of hours. I wouldn't recommend the microwaveunless you are planning to cook with them!
- Allow about 1/2 inch of head space. Do not use glassbecause the expansion in the freezer will break the glass. (yes, ifyou leave enough headspace, it may work some of the time...)
- If fruit is not covered by liquid it may darken or get freezer burn during storage (but doesnot necessarily mean it is spoiled, as all fruits will darken somewhat). To avoid this,remove all air bubbles and while the bags are freezing, stand themso that the fruit is entirely covered by liquid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I freeze peaches dry without any sweetener?
A. Yes. You might get some freezer burn, so you might want to add alittle juice (peach or white grape) to fill the air spaces. Or pack themdry using a vacuum food sealer which would eliminate the need to add juiceand still avoid most freezer burn.
