Peach perfection: Tips for choosing and caring for ripe summer peaches

Local summer fruit is a joy worth waiting for. Late spring,
early summer, there are strawberries. Then, raspberries and blueberries. And
now cherries have made their appearance, both sweet and sour (for pie!). But I
think I most eagerly await peaches and nectarines. When they're juicy ripe, I
devour chunks of them dolloped with tart creamy Greek yogurt, no extra
sweetener necessary—a luscious start to a warm summer day.

Stone-fruit season is almost upon us in the Northeast. For
about a month now, I've been dreaming about them, and a new cookbook called The
Perfect Peach: Recipes and Stories from the Masumoto Family Farm, has been
sitting on my desk reminding me of what's to come. The book, written by farmer
and author David Mas Masumoto, his wife Marcy, and daughter Nikiko, has a wealth
of peach-based information, in addition to reminiscences about life on the
farm, and of course, luscious-looking recipes.

Here are a few of their expert tips on storing and ripening
peaches:

• First and foremost, buy ripe peaches, whether firm-ripe
  (with slight give when pressed), to those with more give, to those that are
  soft and ready to eat. Their background color (near the stem end), should have
  a yellow, amber, or golden hue, not a greenish tinge.
• Peaches that were picked very green will not ripen, and if
  they've been previously refrigerated, they'll go from green to mealy when left
  out. (A very disappointing situation, in my opinion!)
• Once home, sort your peaches by ripeness. Peaches are
  ideally stored resting on their shoulders, not touching one another.
• If you have peaches that you'd like to ripen further, leave
  them at room temperature in a dry area, even near a window (but not baking in
  the hot sun). Check daily, and use or refrigerate when they're ready.
• Refrigeration will stop the ripening process, so even very
  ripe peaches will last for another couple days.

Have local peaches arrived in your area? Once you've had
your fill of eating them out of hand, try our Peach & Blueberry Crumble.
Want to see their savory side? They're great with grilled pork or grilled
salmon, as in this super summery recipe.

Catherine Lo

Food Editor, Hearst Lifestyle Food Group

Catherine (Cathy) Lo is Senior Food Editor for the team that produces culinary content for Hearst brands such as Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Prevention and Women’s Health and spends her time helping to write and perfect recipes in the test kitchen, testing food products and beverages (both alcoholic and non) and keeping up with the latest food trends. Cathy has an advanced certificate in Wines and Spirits from the International Wine Center, a culinary degree from the Institute for Culinary Education and a BA from Binghamton University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, where they’ve been known to push aside the furniture and dance swing and salsa in their living room.