Some may say the family is a nest of humanity that nurtures civility and tolerance, but you know just as well as I do that families are more often roiling hotbeds of strife and contention. If you’re lucky and manage to stay out of court most of the time, the drama is petty, like this genetic tempest in a teapot over–-of all things–-pickled peaches.
We’d been having a carefree back-and-forth online discussion on our family website about a traditional holiday meal when I oh-so-casually mentioned that a cold plate featuring stuffed celery, trimmed green onions, black olives, and pickled peaches always appeared on our table. The pit hit the fan when a younger relative professed that she had no idea what pickled peaches were, much less what they taste like, to which I expressed what they obviously considered an excessive degree of shock and dismay.
Before I could sit sideways to assess my position, I was in a pickle myself. Another young cousin called “Mr. High-and-Mighty,” another chimed in with “a snooty old fart”, and after that it was a “jump on Jesse” free-for-all. Confident in my legendary modesty and self-effacement, I managed to remain calm for about 30 seconds before surrendering to my base nature and giving them a generous piece of my mind peppered with vulgarity.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
Pickled peaches are perfect for any holiday table or used as you might any canned peach in cobblers, cakes or for ice cream. Select the smallest fresh cling peaches you can find. It doesn’t matter if they’re a little bit green; in fact, you shouldn’t use peaches that are soft and ripe enough to eat out of hand because they tend to fall apart when moved.
Drop whole firm peaches–a little on the green side–in briskly boiling water for about a minute or two to loosen the skins. Peel. For every four pounds of peaches, combine 3 cups sugar and 2 cups vinegar, add two pieces of stick cinnamon broken into 2-inch pieces and two teaspoons whole cloves.
Heat to bubbling. Pack peaches into sterilized quart jars, add hot spiced syrup (with water if needed) seal tightly, and process for 10 minutes. Wait a week before serving.
