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I have just picked about 3kg (5lb) of peaches from the tree in our garden. I do not know what kind they are, but they are in urgent need of eating before I lose the whole lot to bugs and mould. There are still plenty more on the tree too, though more drop off each day!

So, my question is, what shall I do with a large number of peaches?! They are not especially large.

My husband is requesting peach pie, and I did find this question which sort of helped me, but I could do with a bit more information and confirmation about whether this is the right approach.

Alternatively, what other recipes do people make? And I was wondering about peach jam. I haven't scoured the internet yet, but certainly my recipe books didn't come up with much to inspire me, so now I reach out to you wonderful people!

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 What a wonderful problem to have! I just spent 2 bucks a pound for enough peach to make a pie for my husbands birthday. Must run to laundromat...will post my pie recipe soon... – Elizra Jul 23 at 23:36

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This is the recipe I use for my peach glace pie (it's called berry glace pie; look at the end for the peach glace version). It's in one of my favorite cookbooks, and I found it online so I could post a link instead of typing out a recipe :)

http://books.google.com/books?id=zHGmOsoyZ1EC&pg=PT400&lpg=PT400&dq=better+homes+and+gardens+berry+glace+pie&source=bl&ots=SKqsAX8mbP&sig=0ObNuIkTshbfQJxvmu9PWXLcUmE&hl=en&ei=9ytLTNqBDYGB8gbK1sQ0&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

The one thing I do that's not in the recipe is while the crust is still slightly warm, I spread a block of cream cheese (8 oz) on the bottom of the crust. My husband's mom always did it that way (only she uses just 3 oz of cream cheese) and it's really really good that way.

I used to follow the recipe above exactly, but lately I've gotten lazy and I don't blend up the peaches. After I mix the sugar and cornstarch together in the pan I'm going to cook the peach glaze in, I add one cup of peaches and about 1/2 cup of water and mush them with a potato masher. That works just fine! No blender to clean :)

Oh, and I almost forgot:

When I'm working with a small amount of peaches (enough for one or two pies) I never bother blanching them. That said, blanching has it's place. I've canned up to 80 quarts of peaches before. That's when I blanch!!

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@Elizra - Excellent posting and link. I made this recipe the other day, and it worked out great! And that was despite the peaches being seriously ripe and squishy by then! I didn't have any cream cheese in the house, but used sour cream instead which was yummy. Do you know WHY your mother-in-law (and now you) does this though? And I couldn't be bothered blanching either! – Ikkle Becca Jul 27 at 16:43
@Elizra - I like all the answers I got, but I am going to accept this one given that my husband was particularly pleased to get peach pie. Though he did wonder why it was cold and had no top! Men! I can also see it being a really good one to substitute other fruit. Thank you! Also, I loved your comment about the laundromat and that you did come back and post a 'proper' answer! :) – Ikkle Becca Jul 27 at 16:47
Thanks Ikkle Becca! Funny about your hubby. My husband is the opposite. Put a baked summer fruit (blue berry, peach, black raspberry) pie in front of him and he'd cry! He loves these glace pies :) AND ALSO, my mil puts cream cheese on the bottom, best I can figure, because her grand-mother-in-law did. Runs in the family, I guess. – Elizra Jul 27 at 16:58
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That comment you made about purée made me think, Becca - you can make chutney from peaches, y'know!

Try something like this - http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/spicy-peach-chutney/Detail.aspx

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@Klypos - Now that sounds like a good plan too! I love cheese and without chutney... well...! – Ikkle Becca Jul 27 at 23:27
wow, good idea! – Sabrina♦ Aug 9 at 7:55
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Another one of my FAVORITE things to do with peaches is freeze them. First, make a simple syrup just like you do when you are canning. Peel, pit, slice peaches; fill a quart ziploc bag with the sliced peaches; ladle (slightly cool works best) syrup into the bag to cover the peaches, let out the excess air and freeze.

These are best eaten while still partly frozen. If you let them defrost the entire way, you can still use them for cooking, but the are not very good just to eat anymore, as they get entirely too mushy. But, eating them while still partly frozen is one of the better things I've ever eaten.

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 sounds like one of those "good with ice cream" ideas ... peach ice cream? Hmmmmmmmm yum yum – klypos♦ Jul 27 at 1:26
@Elizra - good plan, but I suspect my peaches are already so squishy that freezing would just turn them into purée! – Ikkle Becca Jul 27 at 16:44
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I'm a big fan of cobbler's. Here are 2 recipe's that I really enjoy for peaches/nectarines:

9 Peaches (4 cups) peeled, sliced into chunks, 1/2 C. sugar, 2 t. cinnamon, 1 t. vanilla, 1/2 C. butter

Topping: 2 1/2 C. Bisquick, 1 egg, 2 C. milk, 1 T. sugar, 1 T. oil

Cover bottom of rectangle pan with peaches. Combine sugar/cinnamon/vanilla & sprinkle over peaches. Thinly slice butter over sprinkle mixture. Combine topping mixture & pour over peaches.

Bake 350 for 45-60 minutes until brown. Serves 6-8

I also really LOVE this super simple recipe I got from allrecipies.com: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Batter-Fruit-Cobbler/Detail.aspx

It's a much smaller recipe and serves about 3-6 people. I made it last weekend for 3 people and after we all had a 2nd helping it was totally gone! :)

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We have an apricot tree in our garden so early this year (in our summer) I had a similar problem. I bottled/preserved about half of them and most of the rest I made into jam. I also chopped fruit and put it in the freezer to make some more later in the year. We have just run out of jam so I will make more in the next few weeks.

For the ones I preserved/canned I chopped the fruit then cooked in a syrup. For 4.5 kgs Apricots I used 2 cups sugar and 5 cups water. I put them into jars and used preserving seals but you could also freezer it in serving portions. I then use this for fruit desserts or to have with breakfast cereal. This link has instruction for preserving/canning fruit.

My jam (jelly) recipe that I use whenever I make jam (which I do if I can get cheap fruit). Boil the fruit over a fairly high heat until it is soft. I add a little water to stop it sticking until it makes its own juice. Measure the cooked pulp and add 3/4 C sugar for every cup of pulp, bring to the boil over a low heat stirring until the sugar has desolved and then boil briskly until it is cooked until setting stage. To test put a teaspoon on a cold saucer and leave it for about 2 minutes. If it forms a skin when you run your finger over it it is ready. You need to keep testing it every three minutes. What I do is put some saucers in the freezer so they are cold for the setting test. I then put it into sterilised jars.

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I like the freezing of the fruit idea, then you can enjoy fresh fruit desserts all year long! – Sabrina♦ Jul 25 at 11:35
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 @K D - I made this jam a couple of nights ago - seems to have worked perfectly! I'm not sure it was totally set, but if not it'll make a fabulous ice cream topping! – Ikkle Becca Jul 27 at 16:40

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