Name: Pickled Peaches
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 3 pints
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 2 lb. firm but ripe peaches; 2 cups (packed) light brown sugar; 4 cups distilled white vinegar; ½ tsp. ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp. whole cloves; ½ tsp. ground allspice; ¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg; ½ tsp. finely grated lemon zest

Peaches are native to Asia and were probably first grown in China nearly four thousand years ago. None of that matters in this country, where peaches are found all over. While Georgia peaches are renowned, South Carolina likes to boast that they in fact produce more peaches than Georgia…and then Alabamans insist their Chilton County specimens are the finest.

Wherever you are, when they are ripe and there is a bumper crop of them, the best thing to do after you’ve eaten your fill and made ice cream is to pickle them and put them up so that they can be served with baked ham and pork chops throughout the winter. These would appear on my Virginia grandmother’s table at Sunday dinner, in a crystal relish dish almost every time that we made the journey to dine. They are a celebration of the fruit and a serious nod to the tradition of pickling. —Jessica B. Harris, Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine

Read our interview with Harris about her new cookbook here.

Ingredients

Pickled peaches

2 lb. firm but ripe peaches
2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
4 cups distilled white vinegar
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. whole cloves
½ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp. finely grated lemon zest

Preparation

Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set near the stove. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the peaches to the boiling water and cook for 10 to 15 seconds, then remove them to the ice water. When cool enough to touch, peel the skins; they should slip off easily. If not, boil again for a few seconds.

In a large nonreactive saucepan, combine the brown sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Meanwhile, pit the peaches and cut into wedges.

Add the peaches, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and lemon zest to the vinegar mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the peaches are tender, about 20 minutes.

If serving immediately, allow the pickled peaches to come to room temperature. Otherwise, spoon them into sterilized jars, top with the spiced vinegar, and let cool. The peaches will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Reprinted with permission from Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine by Jessica B. Harris, copyright © 2025. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Photography copyright: Kelly Marshall © 2025

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