Peach Juice

 

I've been processing food from my garden over the past month.  We've had an abundance of yummy food.  I finally figured out that boiling green beans on the stove-top is always superior to cooking them in the microwave (as demonstrated by my husband).  We've also been enjoying a bumper crop of cucumbers which I've served almost every night for dinner.  They are particularly good when chilled.

I tried an experiment this year.  We've had so many peaches.  So I tried juicing some in my steam juicer.  I followed the same process that I use when I juice grapes (link here: http://iprepared.blogspot.com/2010/10/canning-grape-juice.html).   The picture above shows the result.  I was so surprised to see the jars fill up with this candy-red colored juice.  It is NOT what I expected.  

Peach juice is interesting.  It has a rich peach smell mixed with a little bit of stinky feet.  I haven't tasted any out of these bottles, but after pulling all the juice I could, I did stir the peaches at the end and was able to pull one last quart.  It was pink and full of debris instead of red and clear like these jars.  I drank some and just couldn't get past the stinky-feet smell/taste.  As I discussed it with my husband, we realized that you don't often find peach juice on its own.  Usually it's in a blend or is spiced like a cider.  So we tried it with a little cinnamon and it made all the difference.  I think we're going to have some yummy spiced peach cider this fall!

Have you ever juiced peaches?  Did you drink it straight or blend it with another juice?  Have you tried a peach cider?