tips for tuesdays
notes from maggie's farm
choosing the perfect peach
To ensure you bite into a juicy, sweet peach when you get home, look for these qualities when selecting peaches:
- An even background color of golden yellow for yellow peaches, and creamy yellow for white flesh peaches. Note that the red blush characteristic of some peaches does not indicate ripeness.
- A well-defined crease.
- A slight give to the flesh—neither rock-hard nor mushy.
- Avoid fruit with green around the stem (they aren’t fully ripe) or that have shriveled skin (they’re old).
- Most importantly, find fruit that smells how you hope it will taste.
Note: Peaches bruise easily, so don’t use your fingertips to check for firmness. Instead, hold the peach in your whole hand.
storing peaches
Store peaches on the counter at room temperature until they are the ripeness you prefer. When ripe, peaches should be stored in the crisper bin of your refrigerator and will keep for up to five days.
Tip: To quicken the ripening process, place peaches in a paper bag.
When storing fresh peaches at room temperature, be sure there is enough space between them to allow proper air circulation and use within a few days. Peaches need humidity, so refrigerate in a plastic bag. Peaches frozen in a sugar pack result in a better product than those frozen in plain water. puree or chop the fruit, add an acidic juice to keep the fruit from darkening, and freeze in a tightly-sealed container or plastic zip-top bag with air removed. Slices and halves can also be dehydrated.
peachy tips and hints
If the fruits are overly ripe, puree or chop the fruit, add an acidic juice to keep the fruit from darkening, and freeze in a tightly-sealed container or plastic zip-top bag with air removed. Although the fuzzy skin is perfectly edible, it becomes tough when cooked. To remove the skin, blanch in boiling water for one minute and then immediately plunge into cold water to cease the cooking process. The skin should easily slip off. Do not let them soak in the water.
peach-a-licious links
Recipes for Canning and Preserving
Keeping Peaches Pretty and Bright
Peach Nutrition Information
Stop by tomorrow for (almost) wordless wednesday at notes from maggie's farm for peach-region travels around the Texas Hill Country. Have a great day.
I'm hungry for a nice, juicy peach :-)
ReplyDeletewe've got a bushelful!
ReplyDeleteI love peaches and now my mouth is watering. Thank you for all the wonderful tips!
ReplyDeleteKathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Kathy, it's a veritable peach windfall around these parts! Thank you for dropping by--
DeleteOh, now I want some peach cobbler! :)
ReplyDeleteI do, TOO! I've got a little left over, maybe a cobbler would be just the thing. Thanks for the idea, and thanks for dropping by!
DeleteAh, one of my favorite memories is collecting peaches from my Nana's trees in the summer. My mother would slice, sugar, and freeze them immediately in big Ziploc bags, and that was our dessert most nights throughout the winter, frozen peaches from Nana's orchard. Thanks for reminding me of those happy times!
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me to go get another bushel of peaches this weekend. I cooked, and 'jammed' with them, but didn't freeze any, and you're right, it would be a sweet treat during winter. Thanks for the nudge!
DeleteGreat! There is something so perfectly satisfying about semi-frozen ripe peaches. My mother would take a portion out well before supper so that they'd be soft enough to eat but still cold and a little icy by dessert. I don't even think I'd have taken ice cream over those peaches! Well, maybe WITH the peaches. :)
ReplyDelete