Peach Sauce - A great way to use overripe peaches
What to do with overripe peaches!
This is my go to recipe for most fruit sauces; simple, flavorful, aromatic, and low in added sugar. The finished sauces be they peaches, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even exotic fruit like jackfruit, are great to use hot, spooned onto ice cream; cold, spooned onto cakes, pies or other pastries; or as an ingredient in yet another dessert creation, like peach cream pie or peach ice cream.
This past summer’s crop of peaches was amazing and plentiful, so much so that grocers and produce markets often can’t sell them fast enough. I noticed that most people shopping for peaches look for those that are more firm, possibly because they are going to eat them out of hand. The smaller, independent, local markets often have a shelf in the back where they place their overripe produce. One day I found four pounds of peaches that were mostly blemish-free but soft to the touch and I thought “Perfect!”; time to make a peach sauce!
INGREDIENTS
- 4 lbs of overripe peaches peeled, pitted, and sliced
- 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
- 2 cups of water
- 1 stick of cinnamon or 1 tbsp powdered cinnamon (cinnamon powder is ok but note that you will have brown specks in your sauce)
- 4 slices of fresh ginger or 1 tbsp powdered ginger (I prefer the brightness that fresh ginger adds to this sauce)
- 4 cloves or 1/2 tsp powdered cloves (powdered cloves is ok but note that you will have brown specks in your sauce)
- 1/4 cup dark rum (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preparation:- Peel, pit, and slice the peaches (no need to be pretty or precise, as they are going to be cooked down)
- Slice the ginger root crosswise and press one clove into each slice (this makes it easier to retrieve them later)
Cooking:
- Place all the ingredients into a large stock pot and cook on medium-high for 30 minutes or until the peaches have softened.
- Retrieve the cinnamon stick and ginger slices with cloves. Discard.
- At this point you can either:
- simply mash the peaches if you like your sauces with more texture…
- or place into a high-speed blender and puree for a very smooth texture. If you choose to puree in a blender BE CAREFUL, it’s HOT, and hot liquids in a blender will react more vigorously when processed (i.e. the top will fly off the blender because of the expanding steam if the top is not held down ).
- Again this next step is a matter of personal preference.
- If you like your sauces runny then stop here; your peach sauce is done and ready to use hot, warm, or cold.
- If you like your sauces thicker then place the mashed or pureed sauce into a large enough sauce pan on medium heat and cook further until you reach the consistency you desire.
- Store in the fridge for up to 7 days, freezer for 6 months, or canned (pasteurized) for up to one year.
ENJOY!
Peach Sauce – A great way to use overripe peaches
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