This will be a 3 stage process, so I will post part one now, stay tuned for the rest.
To start, I bought a kilo of the best stone fruit I could find. It should be fully ripe and free from blemishes. I'm trying white nectarines and yellow peaches.
Give the fruit a quick rinse to remove any nasties or extra peach fuzz.
![Preserving Summer Preserving Summer](images/1266824196.jpg)
Finally you will need about 500mL of vodka per 1L bottle to soak the fruit in. Vodka works the best as it will not give a strong flavour to the fruit. I used plain vodka for the nectarines, and vanilla vodka for the peaches.
Cut the fruit in half, remove the seed, then cut each half into four. This size gives a good amount of surface area in contact with the alcohol, but the pieces are big enough that they do not entirely dissolve.
![Preserving Summer Preserving Summer](images/1266824491.jpg)
Fill the jar to the top, loosely packed.
You may or may not use all of the fruit. Pour the vodka over the fruit to the top of the jar.
![Preserving Summer Preserving Summer](images/1266824600.jpg)
Seal the jars and place in a cool dark cupboard to infuse for at least two weeks.
![Preserving Summer Preserving Summer](images/1266824739.jpg)