A guide to peaches with more than 35 recipes for the delicious summer fruit will tell you how to pick, store, cook and bake with them.
Ok guys, we are officially in June and that means I can now call it summer without that little voice in my head saying “Gina, it’s May. May is not a summer month, delete that word.” Yeah, that actually happens. Which is part of the reason I get so agitated with the early pumpkin pushers. You throw pumpkin in my face in August and we’re gonna have words. Ok not really, but I’ll secretly hate you behind this computer screen.
A Guide To Peaches
So, June = summer and you know what summer means? PEACHES.
My all time favorite fruit. Try and tell me anything is more delicious than a sweet juicy summer peach and I’ll immediately dismiss any credibility you may have had in my book. Nothing beats a peach. Nothing.
So what’s the skinny on this amazing summer fruit?
Peak season for peaches: May – October
Varieties of peaches: The most popular is the cling-free peach but white peaches and donut peaches are also widely available. Personally, I’m a huge white peach fan. Donut are cute, but not enough bang for your buck with those little guys.
What to look for when picking peaches: Local peaches are best if you have access to them. They bruise easily and therefore are hard to transport. Look for fruit that isn’t bruised, without any hint of green near the stem and a well defined crease. Smell the fruit. If it smells how you’d want it to taste (peachy!) then it’s a good pick.
How to store peaches: Store unripe peaches on the counter in a single layer (<–great tip to avoid mold growth). Once softened and ripe, they can be transferred to the refrigerator to halt the ripening process. They’re best eaten within a week.
How to prepare peaches: Obviously, peaches can be eaten without any preparation and just enjoyed out of your hand. Of course, you can bake them, grill them, poach them and even pickle them too.
Nutritional benefits of peaches: Peaches are high in vitamins A and C.
Don’t miss out on more guide posts:
A Guide To Strawberries
A Guide To Apples
A Guide To Winter Squash
Peach Recipes from Running to the Kitchen:
And because I don’t want you to miss even 1 day of peach season, here are 35+ recipes to get your peach on!
Grilled peaches with brown sugar pecan crumble
Peach and cherry quinoa crumble
Peach coconut almond flour muffins
Sweet corn, peach and honey mustard chicken salad
Walnut crusted peach tart with cashew coconut cream
Pistachio crusted flank steak with peach puree
Peach Recipes From Others:
Sweet ream roasted peach bruschetta
Ginger peach pie
Peach slab pie
Peach and pecan quinoa salad
Baked peach almond oatmeal
Tomato peach burrata salad
Habanero peach jam
Deep fried peaches and ice cream
Roasted peach buckwheat pancakes
Gluten free peach french toast bake
Vanilla honey peach butter
Peach mint bourbon sweet tea
Ricotta pizza with peaches
Peach honey sangria
Fresh peaches and cream muffins
Peach chai frozen yogurt shake
Maple glazed sweet potatoes and peaches
Grilled peach salad with peach cumin dressing
Ginger shortcakes with fresh peaches
If you liked this post, don’t miss these Spring Vegetable guide posts either:
A Guide To Leeks
A Guide To Peas
A Guide To Asparagus
A Guide To Radishes
A Guide To Artichokes
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I love peaches– and your recipes look amazing! The whole time I was reading you post, I couldn’t help but sing that song by the Presidents of the United States of America. You know, “Millions of peaches, peaches for me/
Millions of peaches, peaches for free.” If not, I highly recommend looking it up. It’s called Peaches.
haha you and me both. It was in my head the entire time I was putting this together :)
So excited for peach season – I usually buy a whole bushel from a local farm for canning, but I try to enjoy as many fresh peach recipes as I can that week too! Definitely going to be referencing this later. (And thanks for including me!)
I LOVE peach season – thanks for this delicious collection and for including my recipe! xo
HOORAY for peaches. In the summer, I just can’t get enough! Thanks for including my peach pizza too :)
You’re such a peach, Gina. XO
We live in Georgia so every year I look forward to peach season. We should be seeing them anytime now. Loved reading about all the other types of peaches too.
One of my all time favourite fruits! Love flat bottom (doughnut) peaches!!!
haha, me too, I just wish they were bigger. I need like 5 at a time!
My husband was just asking when we can go peach picking!! Love this guide – thanks for the recipe love.
Love this post! Learned a lot about one of my favorite fruits. :) Love the desserts, too, I’ll have to try the walnut peach tart with coconut cream. :)
I LOVE peaches too! So many good recipe ideas here! Thank you for including my Buckwheat Pancakes with Honey Roasted Peaches!