When you’re absolutely parched (maybe after digging for treasure?), a jar of sweet Spiced Peach Nectar offers heavenly refreshment. Inspired by the book Holes, this kid-friendly “sploosh” recipe is as fun to make as it is to say.
I love children's picture books, of course, but middle grade and young adult chapter books are such a delight, too. As kids get older, these books can delve deeply into the many complicated facets of school, friends, family, identity, and what it means to grow up. The best middle grade and YA fiction, in my opinion, is equal parts funny, whimsical, and emotional (just like childhood!), and Louis Sachar captures those feelings perfectly in books like Holes.
About Holes
Louis Sachar (born 1954) is an American author of over two dozen chapter books for middle grade and young adult readers, including the Wayside School series (1978-2020), the Marvin Redpost series (1992-2000), and one I remember vividly from my own youth, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom (1987). Sachar's books often center on the funny and tender trials and tribulations of kids at school, inspired by his own time as an elementary school teacher's aide and his wife's work as a school counselor.
Sachar's most celebrated book is Holes (1998), which won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 1998 and the Newbery Medal in 1999. It's a beautifully-written portrait of young adult friendship and the power of family legacies, with many fantastical and unexpected plot points. It was also adapted into a successful movie written by Sachar and directed by Andrew Davis, released in 2003.
Holes tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, a young teenage boy who's been sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional facility, after being falsely accused of theft. To "build character," the campers are required to dig holes in the desert (once a lake) all day, every day. They are unwittingly searching for treasure on behalf of the camp's warden, and face many dangerous risks, including the local venomous yellow-spotted lizards. When Stanley discovers something in a hole, it sets off a chain of unexpected events, all tied back to the tragic and magical stories of the area's original residents and his own ancestors.
Recipe Inspiration
It was a warm, bubbly, mushy nectar, sweet and tangy. It felt like heaven as it flowed over his dry mouth and down his parched throat. He thought it might have been some kind of fruit at some time, perhaps peaches.
Louis Sachar, Holes
At one point in the story, Stanley goes searching for his friend Zero, another camper who is lost in the desert. When he finds him, Zero has discovered a cache of jars filled with something he decides to call "sploosh" that have been buried in the sand for over a hundred years. Having run out of water, the boys survive on this mysterious, peachy liquid until they can reach their next destination.
As we learn in a flashback, a century before, the desert Stanley and Zero are traversing used to be the largest lake in Texas, and was lined with peach trees. At the annual Green Lake Fourth of July celebration, Miss Katherine Barlow was given a special prize every year for her "fabulous" spiced peaches. After a series of tragic events stemming from intolerance in the town of her interracial relationship with local onion farmer, Sam, jars of Kate Barlow's spiced peaches end up at the bottom of the lake. 110 years later, Stanley and Zero find them, and though the peaches have turned to bubbly, fermented mush, they save the boys' lives.
I loved the description of this delicious, miraculous nectar found in the desert, and set out to recreate it. I wanted this kid-friendly recipe to be very easy, so I started with a jar of sliced peaches in syrup--no prep required, available year-round, and it provided a handy jar, just like in the book! In the story, Kate Barlow preserves her peaches with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and "other spices which she kept secret." I decided to dress up the plain jarred peaches with these spices to make them taste just like Kate's would have. Though ground spices were the easiest to add, they turned the peach nectar a cloudy brown color. Bundling up whole spices in a cheesecloth sachet (basically a DIY teabag!) instead made it easy to steep their flavor into the peaches, then remove them, keeping the peach mixture a bright golden color. I used cinnamon sticks and whole cloves along with whole allspice berries as a "secret" spice Kate might have added. Since whole nutmeg is a little harder to find, I kept that spice in its ground form--a little pinch added flavor but didn't affect the color.
Over the course of a century, the spiced peaches in the jars would have started to ferment. To mimic this, I added a little bit of apple cider vinegar to the peaches, which offered a refreshing tang without turning the mixture sour. And to simulate how the peaches would have disintegrated into a soft, mushy juice over the span of a hundred years, after infusing the peaches with the spices, I puréed everything together in a blender. The end result was a sweet, tangy, spiced nectar with juicy peach flavor and a thick, smooth, velvety texture. Just what you'd want to drink straight from the jar in the middle of the desert!
Ingredients You'll Need
To make Sploosh (Spiced Peach Nectar), you'll need:
- Jarred peaches: A 20-24 ounce jar of sliced peaches in syrup
- Whole spices: A cinnamon stick, some whole cloves, and some allspice berries give classic, warm-spiced flavor here, but you could also add or swap in other whole spices like cardamom pods, star anise, or even slices of fresh ginger.
- Ground nutmeg
- Apple cider vinegar: This gives just a hint of bubbly tang to the nectar, but doesn't turn it sour.
- Granulated sugar: If your peaches are in heavy syrup, which is very sweet, you won't need to add any additional sugar. I developed this recipe with peaches in extra-light syrup, so I did add this optional sugar to bump up the sweetness of the nectar a little bit. Taste your syrup and you can decide if you'd like to add more sugar or not.
How to Make Sploosh (Spiced Peach Nectar)
The full recipe with detailed timing and instructions is below, but here are some key moments to look out for along the way:
- Bundle the spices: Place the whole spices on a rectangle of cheesecloth, bundle them up, and tie the bundle with kitchen twine. This makes a spice sachet or "tea bag" that you can easily remove from the peaches later.
- Flavor the peaches: Combine the sliced peaches and their syrup, vinegar, whole and ground spices, and sugar (if you're using it) in a saucepan. Heat them up, then steep until the spice flavors infuse into the syrup.
- Blend: Remove the spice bundle and buzz everything together in a blender. (Much faster than waiting for a hundred years!)
- Pour into a jar: Pour the blended peach nectar back into the peach jar or another container of your choice. Serve now (warm, like in the story!) or chill in the fridge.
Why This Recipe Is Great for Kids
I've spent years writing cookbooks and creating recipes that are safe, fun, and engaging for kids and home cooks of all ages. Here are some key features of this recipe that make it perfect for kids and families to make together at home:
- This recipe requires no knife work and just a little bit of heat on the stovetop. It comes together quickly, and using the blender is always fun!
- You can easily customize the spices in the recipe and get creative. Imagine what you think Kate Barlow's "secret spices" were and try adding them along with or instead of the other whole spices in the sachet. Cardamom or star anise pods, coins of ginger, black peppercorns, or other whole spices in your spice cabinet could all be added to the sachet!
- The spiced peach nectar will keep for at least a week in the fridge, so kids can enjoy their sploosh as a treat for days to come. It's an intense drink, and a little goes a long way! You can also make it extra-bubbly (and less sweet) by stirring it together with some plain seltzer water.
Let's Cook!
Gather your equipment, measure your ingredients, and get cooking with this kid-friendly recipe! If you loved making it together, please leave five stars and share your stories in the comments.
Sploosh (Spiced Peach Nectar)
Good To Know
- Most of the cooking time in this recipe is hands-off while the spices steep in the syrup. You can go read, play, or dig a hole while you’re waiting!
- Sliced peaches come in different strengths of syrup, from “extra-light” to “very heavy,” which just denotes how much sugar is present. I developed this recipe with peaches in extra-light syrup, so I did add the optional sugar, but if your peaches come in heavier syrup, you may not want or need it. I’d opt for a syrup between “extra-light” and “medium” for this recipe, if you can.
- Apple cider vinegar may seem like a surprising ingredient here, but it adds just a little hint of fruity, fermented flavor to this peach nectar.
Equipment You'll Need
- Scissors
- Cheesecloth
- Kitchen twine
- Medium saucepan
- Tongs
- Blender
Measure Your Ingredients
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon allspice berries
- ½ teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 (20-24 ounce) jar sliced peaches in syrup
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Pinch ground nutmeg
Let's Cook!
- 1 cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon allspice berries, ½ teaspoon whole clovesUse scissors to cut a rectangle of cheesecloth that’s about 6-by-9 inches in size. Place the cinnamon stick, allspice berries, and whole cloves in the middle of the cheesecloth, then gather up the sides to form a little bundle. Tie the bundle closed with kitchen twine.
- 1 (20-24 ounce) jar sliced peaches in syrup, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, Pinch ground nutmegPour the peaches and their syrup into a medium saucepan (you can save the jar for step 6, if you like). Taste a little bit of the syrup; if it’s not very sweet, add the optional sugar (and if it is very sweet, skip it!). Add the vinegar, nutmeg, and spice bundle.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat (big bubbles will vigorously break all over the surface). Turn off the stove and slide the saucepan to a cool burner. Let sit until the mixture cools and the flavors blend, at least 30 minutes.
- Use tongs to remove the spice bundle from the pot, squeezing out any extra juice; discard the spice bundle.
- Carefully pour the warm peach mixture into a blender jar. Place the lid on the blender and hold it in place with a kitchen towel. Blend the mixture until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Pour the peach nectar into the now-empty peach jar (or another container of your choice). Serve now while it’s warm (like in the book!) or put the lid on the jar and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Conversation Starters
As the spiced peach nectar cooks and cools, talk about what it was like to make the recipe together, and the themes in Holes. You can help young readers make connections to the book and share your own answers, ideas, and stories with them with the following prompts:
- Stanley and Zero call their discovery of this mysterious peachy liquid in jars "sploosh." Do you like this name for the peach nectar? What would you name it, if you had discovered it?
- If you found food buried in the desert that looked like it had been there for a hundred years, would you eat or drink it? Why or why not? What would you most like to find?
- How would you feel if you had to dig holes in the desert all day? Do you think it was fair for the camp to require the boys to dig holes as their punishment?
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