We have a nice farmers market down the road. At the end of peach season I grab half a bushel of the “eat them today” peaches on sale. Think I paid about $10 or so.
I can peach slices in medium syrup and put them back for a really nasty Chicago winter day. It’s like opening a jar of summer sunshine.
Yum.
Never thought of making jelly from the syrup. I may give that a try.
L
I never throw anything out or pour it down the drain.
Freeze fruit syrup in ice cube squares to melt later to add to ice tea, lemonade or soft drinks. Or make punch or adult drinks.
Veggie broth - keep a big container in the freezer and drain canned veggies into it. There’s the start for soups and casseroles. Mainly corn and green beans. Adding beet juice is ok but turns everything pink but is fine for beef or tomatoey dishes. Too much canned pea juice is too strong a flavor so don’t add much of that.
The veg stand in town sells okra for nearly a dollar a piece. Uh, no thanks. The berry farm and peach stands are also too expensive and cater to city folk who make the drive out. Speaking of, someone sent a mail order gift box of pears (got shorted one). Thanks and all but even with free shipping and a discount that’s over $5 per pear (correct whole order). Come on, it’s a pear. I can get baskets of drops from the neighbor’s tree for nothing or at the grocery store for about 40 cents each. Ok, it’s Christmas and it’s the thought that counts but it makes me so angry how these places rip people off.
Hmm, just checked that particular mail order gift site and fruit isn’t the only thing they’re shorting. They advertise their $6 jelly as 10 oz jars but the label clearly shows 9.5 oz. Sigh...
That reminds me of what my grandmother did. We had friends who would bring us a bushel of peaches in Summer, and Granny would layer them in containers with sugar, and freeze them.
In the middle of winter we’d have them over ice cream and it was wonderful. They’d thaw-out like peaches in syrup, but fresh-tasting, not like canned.