Please advise...peaches are bubbling, some leaking

[Kelly Dietz]

I canned peaches 3 days ago. This morning when I picked up a jar of them, I noticed little bubbles amongst the peaches, and a row of little bubbles at the top. At least one jar is leaking a little bit. I'm assuming that even if a jar is not leaking, something is wrong if it is bubbling.

I'd like to try to figure out what I did wrong, and I'm also hoping to salvage the peaches in some way.

I followed the Nat'l Center for Home Food Preservation web site's instructions. I sliced the peaches up and put them in a boiling water solution (with a bit of honey added) for 5 min,  put them in sterile jars, and boiled the pints and quarts in a hot water bath for 20 and 25 min, respectively.

I'm wondering if and how I can salvage them--about 9 quarts! At this point, since it's only been 3 days, I assume that some fermentation is happening, but the peaches are not spoiled yet.  I also made and canned peach butter the same day, and those 1/2 pint jars look just fine. So I'm thinking of opening all the jars and cooking down the peaches for peach butter.

Any thoughts on what I may have done wrong, and/or advice on my idea to salvage them?

Thanks! ~ Kelly

[Katie Quinn-Jacobs]

Kelly, if you haven't already put your peach quarts in the frig do so. You can call Coop Ext of TC on Monday morning: 272-2292. My guess is that some of the peaches may have begun to be overripe and started fermenting before you processed them. Also, did you remove air bubbles from your packed jars prior to putting the lids on?

[Marcia Morrison]

Kelly, I see more bubbles in my very ripe late season Lorings but after they sit for a week or so the bubbles break down so I wouldn't worry so much about them. If you're sure you're seeing more bubbles being generated I have no idea what might be going on.

Regardless I'd open the jar that appears to be leaking right away and see if it sealed. That will also give you a chance to taste the peaches and see if the flavor has changed.

I follow the procedure you used although I've gone back to cold packing the last couple of years. I can't imagine why all your jars would have failed. I sure hope you see the bubbles dissipate in the next few days.