Here are the directions from the NCHFP https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-fruits-and-fruit-products/peaches-halved-or-sliced/, a national well known authority. As long as you followed directions, some separation is OK; It says 'fill with fruit' but you do need space for the hot syrup to circulate. Yes, the jars need to be sealed after 12-24 hours. However:

as long as the jars are sealed, will it be safe to eat?

Is one of the most dangerous propositions in the canning world. Just because something seals does not make it safe. IF you have followed directions precisely and it seals, it is safe to eat.

NCHFP, BWC: https://nchfp.uga.edu/papers/factsheets/Preserving_Food__Using_Boiling_Water_Canners.pdf

Congratulations on starting the road to wb canning!

Our cherries always have been.

I don't like peaches, so we don't can peaches.

Yes, safe to eat. You can water bath straight juice or syrup with no fruit at all, so the amount of fruit has no bearing. As stated before, if you've followed proper procedures and the jars are sealed.

But why did you post in Perennials? The most important forum for your question would have been Harvest.

^^^Maybe she wants to eat them (and live) for more than one year.

I pressure canned everything since it is safer and faster. But the end results are the same. Peaches give off a lot of juice. Nothing to worry about. Since this is your first experience and you are trepidatious you can use them for cooked pies or such. But it looks perfectly normal to me.

patriciae

Thanks, everyone -- I feel reassured. All the seals took, so I labelled them and put them in the pantry save one -- had to break it open and taste! Was delicious, I got the sugar % in the syrup just right for my taste. I still have a good 30-40 peaches left on the tree, they should be ripe in a few more days so I'll do the rest of them, but pack in more tightly.

I'm late to the party but I agree, those peaches are safe to eat if properly processed and sealed. Mine usually float because I use a very light syrup. Tomatoes float too, as do the strawberries in jam most times. It's still all good, just not as pretty.

Happy Canning.

Annie

You do not want to pack your jars too tightly. The entire point here is full contact with the heat that kills the botulism spore. They for instance no long suggest canning pumpkin pieces as safe because it cooks in too close for full contact.

patriciae

Yes, but botulism isn't normally a problem in fruit, which is why it can be water bath canned instead of pressure canned. Botulism requires a low acid anerobic environment to survive, and peaches, as well as most other fruit, are below the 4.6 pH requirement to qualify as a low acid food. That is not to say it's impossible, as botulism occurs in the soil and on the surface of fruits and vegetables. However, the probability of botulism occurring in properly canned fruit is so low as to be negligible. The more common problem is food poisoning such as salmonella or e coli but that is also negligible in properly prepared and preserved peaches.

As a caveat I will say that white peaches have been found to be low in acid, high enough on the pH scale that they would require pressure canning. It is suggested that they be frozen until sufficient testing on procedures is completed.

According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation and the USDA, canning pumpkin is still safe, as long as it is done in cubes. Pumpkin puree is too thick and the heat cannot penetrate evenly or quickly enough to be safe. It also needs to be pressure canned, but that's because it's a low acid vegetable and not a high acid fruit like peaches.

Annie

I know from your years of comments that you are a food processing expert. I think in this case, you have your "aboves" and "belows" switched when talking about acidity.

The pH scale runs from 1-14, 7 is neutral. Numbers lower than 7 measure acidity, and 1 is the most acidic. Readings above 7 measure how basic (or alkaline) something is, 14 being the most. 3 is a lower number than 4 and so it's below 4 and more acidic.

Taking your information, I think you're saying that foods that are more acidic than the 4.6 mark are safe. That would be a reading below 4.6, so 1-4.5. These are below 4.6

Something that is less acidic and even alkaline would have a higher number and thus be "above" 4.6.

It was hard to parse, but that's what Annie said. It took me awhile, too. What was said is: Fruit is below the 4.6 line which divides them from "low acid". It's the low acid that was above that line. Read it a few more times. It is grammatical, though confusing to read. It's probably a lot clearer if spoken, where non-verbal indiicators such as intonation and emphasis, clarify this kind of thing. And message boards like this are written speech, but the clarity decorations are knocked off, which is one reason why emoticons, and emojis, are so popular.

THanks, plllog, that's what I said. In re-reading I agree that it is a confusing sentence, which is what happens when I post at midnight or so.

The sentence in question is grammatically correct but could be clearer. Now it says:

" peaches, as well as most other fruit, are below the 4.6 pH requirement to qualify as a low acid food." Meaning, of course, that the fruit is below the 4.6 pH requirement, meaning that is the threshold, everything above is considered low acid, everything below is a sufficiently high acidic ingredient.

I stand by my original assessment, which is that peaches are acidic, below the 4.6 pH threshold and thus not a botulism risk although other pathogens can be and sometimes are a problem.

Annie