Nectarines are one of my favorite fruits! They’re sweet and juicy but not overly so. One way you can preserve fresh nectarines is by home canning them using a water bath canner. The process is really easy. Once they’ve been properly processed, they’re shelf stable for 1-2 years. That’s right…shelf stable for a couple of years! They’re 100% better tasting than any fruit that you buy in a can at your local grocery store.
This recipe will yield approximately 6 pint or 3 quart jars. You can easily cut the recipe in half if you have less than the required amount of nectarines. You’ll find over 50+ home canning recipes on the TwoClassyChics blog!
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Nectarines Recipe
18 medium to large fresh nectarines
Ball Fruit-Fresh Produce Protector
1 batch of Light Syrup for Canning (see below)
Light Syrup – 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar mixed with 5 1/4 cups of water. This will yield approximately 6 1/2 cups of syrup. To make the syrup…mix the granulated sugar and water together in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes to get all of the granulated sugar to dissolve. Reduce heat to a low simmer.
Wash nectarines with cold running water to remove dirt. Place them in a colander to allow the water to drain. Place on a cutting board and cut each nectarine in half. Twist the fruit to loosen up the pit. Remove the pit. Use a teaspoon to remove any fiberous strings that were around the pit. Keep the skins on. I find these can better if left in halves. Place nectarines halves in a bowl with water and Ball Fruit-Fresh Produce Protector (instructions on how much to use will be on the package). This will keep them from darkening.
Prepare the light syrup as stated above.
Place the nectarine halves into the prepared hot syrup for 2-3 minutes. You need the fruit to get hot but don’t cook it! Pack the hot nectarines pit side down into hot jars. Ladle the hot syrup into the jar. De-bubble. You need to leave a 1/2″ headspace in each jar. Wipe the rim clean, add the seal and band until it’s finger-tip tight. Repeat until all of the jars are filled.
Process all of the jars in a water bath canner. Pints need to be processed for 20 minutes, quarts need to be processed for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the cover. Let jars cool for 5 minutes sitting in the canner. Remove jars and place them on a cotton towel sitting on your countertop to cool. Once 12 hours have passed…check all jars to make sure that they sealed properly.
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