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Home > Explore an Ingredient

Peaches

Seasonality

Summer

Quick Tips

How to cook peaches

Peaches are best raw, but also popular in desserts, primarily cobblers and pies. I love to use peaches in sauces as well as grilled, roasted, and sauteed. If the fuzz bothers you, score an ‘x’ on the bottom, blanch in boiling water for 20 seconds, cool, and remove the skin.

How to buy peaches

Use your sense of smell and touch with peaches. Peaches that feel just-soft and have a fragrant smell are ripe. Peaches that are firm are not ripe, while peaches that bruise when pressed are over ripe. Peaches will soften after being picked but will not continue to ripen. This means the flavor will also halt.

How to store peaches

Store ripe and soft peaches in the refrigerator (they mold easily at room temperature) for a couple of days, but do not let them touch each other. Bring to room temperature before eating.

Varieties

Clingstone
Freestone

About

There are three items I equate with summer: fresh garden tomatoes, hand-picked sweet corn, and juicy, sweet peaches. Peaches are one of the items I never buy from the grocery store, as they tend to be a more fragile fruit and excess handling results in bruises.

You can soften peaches once picked. Place the peaches in a brown paper bag, checking daily. Once the peaches have softened, transfer to the refrigerator to slow the softening process. Peaches come in two primary varieties named for how the pit acts. In Freestone peaches, the pit is easily freed, leaving neat halves while the clingstone pit must be removed with a bit of force. Peaches also come in white and yellow.

If peaches make it past the raw stage, it’s usually to serve as a breakfast topping, chutney, BBQ sauce, or grilled cheese partner. I’ve even grilled peaches, which helps to caramelize the peaches natural sugars.

Peaches can be frozen and canned. I love to can peach salsa, but you can make jars of sweet peaches. It’s as as easy as most vegetables, just blanch, peel, slice, and freeze.

Grilled Peach Salad

see full recipe >

 All Vegetarian Peaches Recipes

  • BBQ Chickpea Sandwich with Tahini Slaw
    BBQ Chickpea Sandwich with Tahini Slaw
  • Blue Cheese Peach Pizza with Honey
    Blue Cheese Peach Pizza with Honey
  • Fruit Chutney | Component Cooking
    Fruit Chutney | Component Cooking
  • Grilled Chipotle Peach Salad
    Grilled Chipotle Peach Salad
  • Grilled Peach and Halloumi Skewers with Basil-Jalapeno Sauce
    Grilled Peach and Halloumi Skewers with Basil-Jalapeno Sauce
  • Multigrain Dutch Baby with Fresh Peaches
    Multigrain Dutch Baby with Fresh Peaches
  • Peach Salad with Maple Pistachios and Chile Butter Dressing
    Peach Salad with Maple Pistachios and Chile Butter Dressing
  • Pistachio Peach Salad with Ricotta Salata
    Pistachio Peach Salad with Ricotta Salata
  • Roasted Peach and Cherry Einkorn Shortcake
    Roasted Peach and Cherry Einkorn Shortcake
  • Savory Rye Crepes with Peaches and Blue Cheese
    Savory Rye Crepes with Peaches and Blue Cheese
  • Stone Fruit Salsa
    Stone Fruit Salsa
Peaches

Recent Recipes

  • Peach Salad with Maple Pistachios and Chile Butter Dressing
    Peach Salad with Maple Pistachios and Chile Butter Dressing
  • Blue Cheese Peach Pizza with Honey
    Blue Cheese Peach Pizza with Honey
  • Pistachio Peach Salad with Ricotta Salata
    Pistachio Peach Salad with Ricotta Salata

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I'm Erin and this is my space for all things vegetarian food inspired by California and my love of cooking.


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