What is the easiest way to peel a peach?
Here’s a weird fact about me; I can’t stand the feel of an unpeeled peach. Peaches are absolutely delicious, but the fuzz gives me the heebies.
As luck would have it, a coworker gifted me fresh peaches. Since I knew my family would love them, I put them in a bag and took them home.
While the thought of eating a nice ripe peach was enticing, eating the fuzzy outside was not an option. (Although, it’s perfectly safe to do so.)
As I pondered the very limited options of peeling a peach without touching it, my country roots kicked in.
Both my Nanny and my mom canned bushels of peaches every summer. Instead of standing and peeling all those peaches, they were blanched and skinned.
While I knew blanching was part of canning peaches, it never occurred to me to blanch one or two peaches simply for the sake of immediate enjoyment.
Now that I have had that revelation, I anticipate never needing to peel a peach again.
The easiest way to peel a peach is to use the blanch and shock process.
Whether you want to peel 3 or 30 peaches, the blanch and shock process is the same, and it’s blissfully easy.
How to blanch a peach
To blanch peaches, fill a pot with enough water to cover the peaches.
Bring the water to a boil.
Put the peaches in the boiling water with a slotted spoon for thirty seconds. Time it, the goal is to blanch the peaches, not cook them.
After thirty seconds, remove the peaches from the boiling water and “shock “them.
Immediately move the peach to a bowl of ice water and leave it there for thirty seconds.
When the peaches are immersed in cold water, they are “shocked” and discontinue cooking.
Finally, peel the peach.
After blanching and shocking, peaches aren’t really “peeled”. They are basically skinned.
Make two small slits on two sides of the stem and using your thumbs, start at the slits and slide the skin off the peach.
It’s the easiest thing ever and the fuzz doesn’t feel fuzzy when it’s wet.
It’s that easy. If you want to enjoy a delicious, peeled peach, the easiest way to peel a peach is the blanch and shock process.
After peeling, unless the peach is eaten like an apple, it’s time for slicing.
The easiest way to slice a peach is to cut it into sections around the pit.
After making the cuts, pull the sections off, much like you do an orange.
And a little more on peaches.
Since I can now purchase peaches when they are in season, I reached out to my foodie friends to ask them how to choose the ripest peaches.
They were happy to accommodate me.
How to choose the ripest peaches.
A perfectly ripe peach will be slightly squishy to touch.
Not too hard and not too soft (think Goldilocks).
Too hard will mean the peach isn’t quite ripe enough and too soft indicates the peach is overripe and won’t last much longer.
A peach will smell like a peach. Go figure 😊.
If your peach doesn’t have much aroma, it’s not going to have much taste.
Take a pass on peaches that have no smell.
Check out the color of the peach.
If it’s nice and yellow, it’s ripe. If there is any green left on the peach, it’s not ready to be eaten.
Hands down, the best tip I received for how to choose the ripest peach came from my friends’ husband, Don (to whom I promised to give credit!).
Take a bite out of it.
Agreed! Although it will be frowned on as an in-store test!
You might wonder if it’s possible to buy or pick peaches early and let them ripen on the counter.
The short answer is yes, you can put not-quite-ripe peaches in a single layer on the counter for a couple of days and they will continue to ripen.
Also, peaches can be placed, in a single layer, inside a brown paper bag, (like a lunch sack). Loosely fold the top down and allow them to continue to ripen in the bag.
If you refrigerate an unripe peach, the ripening process will stop or drastically slow down.
Aside from the fuzzy outside, peaches are one of summer’s best culinary delights.
And if, in the past, the fuzz has been a deterrent, go forth and enjoy your peaches.
Because now you have been armed with the absolute easiest way to peel a peach.
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