The easiest way to store peaches long-term is by freezing. There are many great ways you can preserve a bumper crop of peaches, but many are just too labor intensive for a mom like me, with 2 small kids. I have a limited amount of time, yet still want to provide my family with the very best nutritionally-dense food.
1/2cuplemon juicepreferably from freshly squeezed lemons
2cupwater
4peachespeaches need to be slightly soft to touch but not too mushy. Mushy peaches do not freeze well
Instructions
Rinse the peaches off under cool water, gently scrub off the dirt.
If you don't want to keep the skins on the peaches bring a pot of water to a boil and gently place your peaches in the hot bath for about 40 seconds, then remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl with ice water. The peach skins can then easily be peeled off when in the ice bath. I prefer to keep the skins so I skip this step.
Cut the peaches. You can either slice the peaches in half, quarter them, or cut them in slices. I prefer smaller chunks of peaches, but this is completely up to you. I toss my peaches in a large bowl while cutting.
Toss your cut peaches in a lemon/water bath. This will prevent the peaches from developing that yucky brown appearance. Use a 1:4 ratio of lemon juice to water.
Place your freshly bathed peaches on a cookie sheet. Be sure they each have their own spot on the sheet to prevent peaches from sticking together. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer. I found it generally takes an hour or two for them to fully freeze.
Once frozen on the cookie sheet, use a spatula to separate the peaches from the sheet. Place the peaches in your freezer-friendly container of choice and enjoy all year long!