Old Southern Brandied Peaches

Max, dear, I hesitate to part with this family recipe. I can hear you now. “There she goes again. Erma and her booze recipes. Erma and her grandmother must have hit the bottle a few times when they were making this.”

Truly, Max, my grandmothers did not drink. They just cooked with alcohol. And cured most ailments with alcohol (seemed to work, the whole family lived long and healthy lives). And preserved summer’s brief fling with peaches in the most wonderful sauce.

Think a piece of dense, plain pound cake. Topped with a peach quarter and a spoonful of the liquor drizzled over the cake. Or the same with vanilla ice cream. Heaven on earth.

Shoot. Think of having the start of a sour throat. Then think of eating a Brandied Peach. Sure better than a cough drop. Certainly natural, organic, and still laden with Vitamin C, or whatever vitamins are in fruit.

Think of chopping up a Brandied Peach in your winter breakfast oatmeal. Just don’t run out the door and fly down the road. You might join Paris Hilton and all the other bimbos with a DUI.

I am including some of the original directions here. In the olden days, and here I am talking about ALL the way back to the Dark Ages, they didn’t even seal the jars. Brandied Fruit was stored in stoneware jugs with a stopper or a cloth tied on. I’m sure servants, male children, and even the men of the castle would dip into the Brandied Fruit whenever they thought the cook wasn’t looking.

I love, and totally agree with the original cook’s statement. “The best brandied peaches are those made with the best and most brandy.”

Old Southern Brandied Peaches:

6 pounds ripe peaches
Brandy
3 pounds white sugar
2 cups water

“Pare the peaches with a knife, never scalding and skinning them as is usual for canning. Remove pit and cut into quarters.”

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a large stock pot. Boil until slightly thickened. Add peaches and cook until just barely tender. Test with a long fork. This is usually less than 5 minutes.

Have pint jars hot and sterilized. Using slotted spoon, fill the jars with the peaches. Divide the sugar syrup among the jars so that each jar is between half and three quarters full of syrup. “Fill remainder with good brandy. Cover jars but do not seal.”

“Let stand overnight and if shrunk in the morning, add more brandy to fill. Then seal and put away in a cool place.”

“The best brandied peaches are those made with the best and most brandy.”