Canned Spiced Nectarines with Blueberries
Nectarines are my absolute favorite stone fruit. I just love everything about them. You always hear of people canning peaches (which, I don’t know why because they are the DEVIL to can if you ask me) but no one ever talks about canning nectarines.
This recipe takes them up a notch with a little bit of spice. They are my favorite and I also always drink the leftover juice when I open a jar. Anywho, without a delay, let’s get started.
What you will need:
A large water bath with the canning rack inside (filled with water and put it on medium to high heat to get it going)
12 pint jars, lids/bands removed, jars washed and on a clean tray
A ladle, a wide mouth funnel, a jar grabber and a heavy towel
A pot with 8 cups water in it, on medium heat
A large bowl, grater and a sharp knife
Patience, good music, and your kids in another room so they can’t ask for snacks every 3 mintues, maybe even some wine, I won’t judge.
Now, for the ingredients:
16-20 nectarines (ripe but not over ripe - washed and dried then kept at room temp)
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup honey (we just raw honey from www.thegoodhive.com —> it’s the best!)
3'“ piece of ginger, grated into a bowl
Ground cinnamon
The first thing you do it put your jars in the oven at 210 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 10 minutes without opening the oven. This sterilizes them. You will never see a picture of the inside of my oven (unless I have to buy a new one then maybe once) so you get jars on a tray :)
Now, add your 1/2 cup honey to the 8 cups of water and get that baby to a low boil.
Honey water, not pee water I promise.
Next, you want really, really dry hands, some patiences (or chug some wine, whatever). Slice the nectarines all the way around and twist them to get them to open. Nectarines are like people. Most are great, do what they are supposed to and don’t complain, but every once in awhile you get a bad one that is a jerk. Fight with it, throw it against the wall, or feed it to the pigs. I won’t judge. Can you spot the jerks in this bowl??
I wait to slice them all and pull the pits to the very end, but you can do them as you go too. You will just need to clean your hands off and dry them in-between.
If you’re waiting to slice them, then you can do that now. Pull those pits and toss them.
Your jars should be done by the time you are finished with your wine, I mean nectarines (unless you are Flash, and if you are, I will rent you.) Go ahead and pull them out and turn off the oven. Add a pinch of your grated ginger to each jar, about 1/8 of a tsp of cinnamon, and about 8-10 blueberries or so. Go ahead and count them… I have blueberry scooping.
Pack the nectarines into the jars leaving about an inch at the top to the rim. This is where I feel I get a little payback for the difficulty in removing the pits. Smoosh them in there, but not too hard.
They should look like this from the side.
Now, we add the hot honey water. Since it was boiling, the raw benefits of the honey are really gone, but it sure does taste amazing anyway! Use your ladle and wide mouth funnel to help not make a mess… or make a mess, it’s not my kitchen!
Finally, you are ready to wipe the rims with a clean cloth, and add your lids and bands. Just figure tip tight, you don’t’ have to crank them super hard.
Carefully (use the jar grabber if needed) put them in the water bath by putting just the corner of the bottom of the jar in the water first then lowering them all the way in. This will keep the shock from hitting the bottom of the jar and breaking the glass. Make sure there is at least 1” of water covering the jars. Add more if needed. Put the lid on your water bather, get that baby to a boil and then start your timer for 25 minutes. When the time goes off, use the jar grabber to move them to the towel (folded to provide heat protection to your counter) to cool. The lids will ping as they cool - which indicates they sealed. If you can push the button in the middle of the lid after they cooled, they are not sealed. Put that criminal in the fridge so you can still eat it but also for being bad.
All those that did behave, let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours, then remove the rings, date them and let them sit for at least a week for the flavors to combine.
They are now shelf stable for forever! Ok maybe not forever, but as long as they all sealed you should be able to store them for at least 18 months. They won’t make it that long though, you’ll be digging in super fast! Once you open them, store any remainders in the fridge.
Voila! You did it! Any questions or issues, message us on Facebook! We hope you give these a try!
Please note, that because of legal and liability reasons, this is an informational post only. You should always know what you are doing and not just take our word for it. If you haven’t canned before at all, this post should guide you, but we are not liable for any accidents, injury, or anything else should any issues arise. Also, if you improperly preserve food and get sick, it’s not our fault. If it isn’t sealed, don’t eat it. If it smells bad, don’t eat it. If your neighbor doesn’t like you and they made you a jar and dropped them off but they taste carbonated, don’t eat it. We love you and we’re here to help, but it’s on you to be smart. K?
Post written with the help of Hank. He at least kept me company and didn’t ask for snacks constantly.
