Is anyone else seeing these mutant, softball-size, rock-hard peaches at

M

marilynfl

Moderator
the market? Tantalizing posts about crisps and cobblers and crumbles and all I can do with these is hit one over the third-base bleachers.

I even tried poaching them in a wine/ginger base and...oh, I won't waste the font space to describe that fiasco.

No good peaches, no good tomatoes, got to worry about skin cancer...what's the point of summer!

 
Marilyn, some info on what I do...

when I buy the peaches like you're describing, I wait until this time of year (they start appearing in June and those are hopeless). My market will put the seasonal produce in huge end bins because it is plentiful and the cheapest price it will be for the year.

My method:

I select only from the top rear to reduce the possibility of other shoppers having squeezed, dropped, or abused.

I sniff at the stem end for any trace of a scent. Some will have a very faint scent, most do not. Only select the ones with a discernible scent.

Any peach that passes the first two tests will then be inspected for bruises, cuts, or any other blemishes. If the fruit is less than perfect, it will rot before it has time to ripen.

The peaches are carefully placed in multiple bags, do not pile them into one big bag, they will get bruised.

Carefully guard them throughout shopping, don't let anything rest on top of them.

Hand place them on the scale for the cashier. DO NOT let the cashier EVER touch your peaches. Remove them from the scale and safeguard them after they have been weighed. If the cashier is allowed to touch the peaches, he/she will lob them off the scale and down the belt, and your peaches will start rotting before they have a chance to ripen.

At home, place them in a single layer in a large dish and set aside for a few days to finish ripening.

After all this, you will get some fairly good fresh peaches. I just finished up my second cycle of the season and the peach I had for breakfast, that started out as a rock when I bought it, was dripping juicy sweet peach juice down my hands as I ate it. Good luck.

 
Excellent advice. You must have been an Italian grocer in another life. They slap

your hand if you try to touch the produce.

I'll give it a try, Richard. Thanks.

 
I've been fooled twice by road-side stands near me.

I stop by, thinking it's local produce and turns out it's an entrepreneur who bought crates of out-of-state foods that are as hard as those at the grocers.

The "fresh Georgia peaches" were hard, mealy, and brown around the pit. But on the outside, they had the most gorgeous pink blush to them.

Spent $8 for 5 of them.

Did I mention I'm a sucker for gorgeous pink blushing peaches?

 
I'm getting wonderful peaches and nectarines at WF and at local farmers markets here...more

in NJ.

Richard's advise is sound--never let the cashier touch your peaches--rofl.

I usually find that over large fruit is dissapointing. I always go for smaller specimens.

Smell, as Rich said, is so important. Have you fried the white peaches? They are very sweet and luscious.

 
I haven't seen those, but have stared at the "donut" peaches in the supermarket. Anyone

ever try those? The look like little - well, donuts. I wonder what they are a cross between.

 
Terrible peach situation this year!

The only decent ones I've been able to find, were at a natural foods market and they had gotten from California. I made Grammy's Cobbler out of them. I've bought several other peaches this summer and thrown most of them out. They've looked great but never ripen. Are hard and nasty.

NO Missouri peaches - which normally are wonderful because of the ice storm we had late in the spring.

Sad.. Sniff..sniff...

I NEED PEACHES!!!!

 
I've also had bad luck this year with all the peaches-from CA, GA, and SC! Very pulpy and tasteless.

 
They are great to eat but not to cook with, too spency! I've seen the softball ones in Tahoe

we bought one and it took over a week to soften! I like the local white peaches better but they are so fragile. Been eating them over the sink all week! I never did make that yummy Grammie's cobbler. I made a quick & dirty pie which everyone devoured- 5 people, one whole pie gone in 10 minutes. That's what good fruit will do for you! But now I'm staring at the blueberries and thinking of pie....!!!

 
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