Peach Picking Tips

I woke up this morning, washed my face, grabbed my bag, and headed out to the Farmer’s Market. I was on the hunt for peaches and champagne grapes. I didn’t find any champagne grapes, although there was a great selection of fresh-picked Thompson grapes.

I picked up some peaches, but they felt a bit hard still. The farmer assured me that they would be perfectly ripe by tomorrow morning. I tried one later in the afternoon and it was sweet, but had a mushy, mealy texture that I did not like.

Do you ever have trouble picking out peaches? You do? Okay, we need some peach picking tips.

Peach Picking Tips

*For residents of the US, peaches are at their peak in June and July for Southerners and July and August for Northerners.

I’m in the West, toward the middle. Peaches have been in the grocery store in my area for months, but always the hard, overly firm fruit. I’ve purchased them a few times, but I’m still searching for that perfect peach.

*Avoid fruit with any green on it. A ripe peach has a good amount of red “blush” on it.

The fruit that I saw today was very red, with only a little gold or orange to it. So, that was good.

*A ripe peach will have a bit of “give” to it.

It’s hard to describe exactly what “give” is. Think of one of those red playground balls, the kind you used to play 4-square with. They have a firmness to them, but there’s also a little “give.” That’s what makes both a good bouncy ball and a good ripe peach.

* A ripe peach will smell sweet and “peachy.”

I saw a woman sniffing the table of fruit today. I’ve used my nose to pick out a fresh cantalope, but never a peach. If it works for melons, it works for peaches, apparently.   

*Use any soft fruit as soon as possible.

My grandma used to buy flats of peaches when I was a kid. She would make peach cobbler, peach jam, and we’d get to eat our fill when we visited, because once a peach is ripe, it gets over ripe pretty quick.

Image credit: Michelle Smith