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Select peaches that are plump, and have a healthy cream to golden-yellow undertone. Ripe peaches will be fragrant and yield to slight palm pressure. A fully developed peach should have a crease running from stem to point. A reddish blush may be present on some varieties, but is not a true sign of quality or ripeness. Peaches do not get sweeter once picked, but will get softer and juicier. Handle them carefully to avoid bruising.

Avoid peaches that show signs of greening because they will not ripen, but simply soften and gain nothing in flavor. Also avoid those that are too hard or have soft spots, which indicate bruising.

Store at room temperature until ripe. To speed the ripening process, store in a paper bag. Peaches emit a gas called ethylene, a natural ripening hormone; the paper bag keeps the gases close to the fruit. Check daily because peaches ripen very quickly. Once ripe, refrigerate uncovered for a few days. Do not store them in a plastic bag; this tends to build moisture and promote decay. Their flavor is enhanced at room temperature, so take them out of the refrigerator at least thirty minutes prior to eating.

Popular Varieties: Two types: Freestone (fruit slips away easily from the pit, making slicing simple) and Clingstone (fruit adheres to the pit).

Peak Season: May – August

Nutritional Content: 1 medium peach: 40 calories, 0 g fat, 10 g carbohydrates, 9 g sugar. Source of vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium.

Did You Know...

* Peaches should always be peeled before using them to make pies or preserves. Once cooked, their skins will become tough, and ruin the texture. To peel peaches, dip them in boiling water for twenty to thirty seconds and then immediately plunge them into a bowl of chilled water.

* More than three hundred varieties of peaches are grown in the United States, making them the country’s third most popular fruit. The U.S. peach crop is larger than that of all other countries of the world combined.

* Peach pits occasionally produce nectarine trees and vice versa.

* Peaches are associated with truth and sincerity; the leaf represents a tongue, the peach, a heart.

* Peaches are native to China, and were prized as a symbol of long life. In ancient times, one would have to journey to China or Persia in order to taste a peach, then known as "Persian Apples." The Chinese developed more than four hundred varieties of peaches, some shaped like a pancake.

* Offering a peach to someone in ancient Rome was a sign of friendship, possibly the origin of the expression “you’re a real peach.”

* Peach carvings adorned the walls of Egyptian pyramids.

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