Peach Syrup

Home canners by nature tend to be a rather frugal segment of the population.  While the primary goal is to put safe, healthy, additive food on the table as well as provide a cushion in the form of a well stocked pantry, the economics of home canning cannot be overlooked.  Home canning can save a considerable amount of money and more so if you know how to use the waste or excess from home canning that might otherwise be discarded. 

I canned peach slices using a light syrup (2¼ c sugar in 5¼ c water).  There was about a cup of the syrup leftover so I let it cool then refrigerated.  The following day, I made another solution of the light syrup and added to the first to cook peaches for a batch of candied peach slices.  Essentially the wonderful flavour of peaches was infused into the remaining syrup.  Many would be tempted to discard the syrup but why? 

This delicious syrup is perfect for topping ice cream, pancakes or waffles and it can be used in baking and cooking.  I brought the syrup to a boil and ladled into hot jars then processed for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.   The yield was 7 - 250 ml jars of peach syrup.  That's not bad considering I took a waste product of canning and turned it into a usable, delicious product for the pantry.