How To Quickly Peel Peaches Like A Pro

Peaches are a tantalizing and luscious summer stone fruit, but the skin can be off-putting to eat in desserts, snacks, or jams. The easiest way to loosen and remove those pesky skins is a chef move that works like a charm every time — a quick blanch. While blanching vegetables can make your dishes stand out, it also works wonders with fruit. The cooking technique calls for quickly cooking food in boiling water and then shocking it immediately afterwards in cold water.

Blanching peaches is straightforward and super quick. Just a minute or two in the boiling water allows the skins to loosen so they easily slip off, without cooking the fruit itself. This method is particularly helpful if you have a lot of peaches to prep, perhaps to make Delaware's state dessert of peach pie, or if you're just storing the fruit for later.

Rather than laboriously peeling each peach with a paring knife or peeler, start by scoring the bottom of each piece of fruit with an "x" at the base. Then, gently submerge each peach into boiling water and let it rest there for about a minute. Hopefully, you've figured out how to pick the best peaches at the store, but if your peaches are still quite firm, you can just let them blanch in the boiling water for a few extra minutes. Or you can use this hack to ripen them quickly. In the boiling water, you will see the bottom of the skin start to pull away from the fruit, then you can fish each piece out of the water and dunk it in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Once the peaches are cool to the touch, the skins will readily slide off with the assistance of your hands. This pro move preserves the integrity of the fruit, and you'll be left with picture-perfect peach flesh that isn't marred or nicked from endless peeling. To really make the most of your peach bounty, save the skins and make this sweet peach syrup that is perfect for summer cocktails or drizzling over ice cream.