Instructions: Soon, very soon, Christina Almgren will be up to here in peaches.

We should all have such a problem. But truth is, when the bumper crops of summer start coming in, it can be a bit hectic trying to manage the bounty.

Almgren, of Santa Clara, wonders if she can freeze her peaches. I remember my mother freezing peaches quite successfully, but I dont remember how she did it.

California Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County, was quite helpful.

Some highlights:
Always choose fresh, high-quality fruit and freeze soon after harvest. Wash and peel the peaches, then slice directly into a container along with an anti-darkening agent such as Fruit Fresh and a sugar syrup. (Fruit Fresh containers offer further instructions.)

Youll need about 1/2 to 2/3 of a cup of syrup for each pint of peaches. The Web site offers proportions for the syrup depending on the sweetness you desire; for the least sweet, simply mix 2 cups sugar with 4 cups water.

You can freeze peaches without the syrup, but their shelf life is considerably shortened (three to six months for unsweetened fruit vs. eight to 12 months for peaches packed in syrup.) You also can pack peaches in a dry sugar pack, mixing one part sugar with four to five parts fruit. That is the technique I remember my mother using.

If youve got other ideas or recipes to help Almgren make use of her crop, please send them along.

I tire quickly of the usual cobblers and the like when crops such as peaches and blackberries come in. So a rice pudding recipe with peach topping, found on the U.S. rice industry site, www.ricecafe.com, seems like a nice change of pace.

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