Song Dingxiang [Completed]

C41.2 Yellow Peaches in Sugar Water. (2)

Chapter 41.2

"What are you up to?" Fang Shi asked Song Dingxiang to take her son to the main house and placed him next to Li Shi, saying, "Why so secretive, afraid I won't be happy to hear it?"

"It's nothing," Song Dingxiang said with a wry smile, explaining the peach-picking matter, "just this, no need for Mom to say anything, Zijin is old enough to take charge of things on her own, so I've assigned it to her."

Li Shi laughed, "That's just your mom, always fussing. Now that we have the peaches, and sugar at home, take a look at how we can proceed."

Whether it's canned peaches or peach sauce, it's actually quite simple.

Begin by meticulously peeling ripe peaches and halving them before deftly extracting their pits. To mitigate any astringent notes, immerse the peach halves in a gentle saline water for about ten minutes. Subsequently, simmer them tenderly in a sugary elixir for approximately ten minutes until they attain a perfect balance of sweetness and texture.

While cooking the peaches, Song Zhiyuan also returned, bringing back four large ceramic jars and a big pack of rock sugar.

"Let's try making a few jars first to see how we can make it delicious and long-lasting," he said. Although he didn't talk much usually, his thoughts were much more delicate than Fang shi's.

Fang Shi meticulously cleaned the ceramic jars, then tenderly wiped their interiors with a cloth dampened in fragrant white wine. In the heart of the yard, she kindled a fire beneath a sturdy pot, where the jars were soon immersed in a cleansing bath of boiling water.

Once the peaches had softened in the gentle embrace of heat and cooled to a comforting warmth, Fang Shi carefully transferred them and their luscious syrup into the now sterilized jars.

Each jar was then sealed with a protective cap, layered with oiled paper to guard against moisture, and bound tightly with hemp rope. A thick coat of mud was applied, forming an impervious seal.

Once the jars had returned to ambient temperature, they were carefully relocated to a cool, shadowy corner within the house, where they would patiently await their moment to be savored.

A large basket of peaches, with the best-looking ones, were cooked into two jars of canned peaches, and another basin was cooked with well water, waiting for everyone to come back and eat together after dinner.

The remaining peaches, which were damaged or bitten by insects, weren't suitable for canning and couldn't fetch a high price.

After some thought, Song Dingxiang washed the peach skin and cooked it into a thick syrup, then skimmed out the skins and discarded them. She then added chopped peaches, some rock sugar, and let it dissolve, before transferring the syrup to a bowl and cooling it with well water.

Finally, all the diced peaches were cooked with sugar to make jam. Fang shi rolled out dough, made small balls, filled them with thick peach sauce, and shaped them into small sugar packets.

Once steamed, the sweet sugar packets were round and adorable, with a red dot on top, absolutely charming.

Not only were they cute, but when bitten into, the sweet peach fragrance would fill the mouth, making them very delicious.

"It's just a bit too sweet." Li Shi took a bite and found it too rich, so she stopped eating. "How much can we sell this thing for?"

Song Dingxiang replied, "If we sell it now, it probably won't fetch a good price. But when winter comes, if we wrap these sugar packets and sell them, we will definitely make a good profit."