Cherry & Peach Preserve In Sugar Syrup

Finding good fresh fruit is not a big issue here in Riyadh but there are times when you find best fruits at a steal price and that is when I like to preserve them for future relish. I managed to grab a nice batch of peaches and cherries from my local super market. After having enough of fruit devoured I managed to save some to preserve it for future.
I shall be using preserved peaches for upside down peach cake and cherries for black forest cake, ofcourse shall be posting them whenever I bake them :). They also come in handy while preparing tarts and pies. These fruits can also be preserved as jams and can be enjoyed with cakes, breads, muffins, bagels, croissant etc etc or as a mid day or late night snack.

Step 1 - Take 1 pound ripe peaches, soak them in almost boiling hot water for 60 seconds and then imediately soaked in cold water to remove the skin. Cut them and discard their pits. Slice them as per your requirements.

Step 2 - Add 1/3 cup sugar it to the sliced peaches. Dissolve 1/4 th tsp citric acid crystals/nimbu phool in 3 tabs of chilled water and add this to sliced peaches. (Citric acid crystals helps preserve the colour of the fruit and prevents it from darkening)
Mix well and let the sugar melt.

Step 3 - After the sugar has melted arrange the slices in sterilized glass jar (big enough to hold whole batch) put on the lid as tightly as you can and let it sit on the counter for 15 more minutes. Then place it in the freezer.

For cherry preserve skip the first step and just remove the pits of the cherry and follow with step 2.

All done so now whenever I shall require them all I need to do is just thaw them and use it up.