Food News and Trends Grocery How to Pick a Peach That's Ripe and Ready to Eat Follow these steps and your summer fruit stash will be just peachy. By Mary Claire Lagroue Mary Claire Lagroue Mary Claire Lagroue is the Commerce Editor at Food & Wine. A former associate editor at Allrecipes, she joined Dotdash Meredith in 2019. She has written about food since 2017, covering everything from product reviews to recipes to restaurants. Her work can be found in Cooking Light, Southern Living, and more. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Published on May 4, 2021 Juicy peaches make summer all the sweeter. Peach cobblers, peach crisps, salads, and grilled peaches all contribute to our love of the season, but perhaps no dish beats the delight of biting into a perfectly ripe peach. Before you stock up on this stone fruit or slice into one that's already in your fridge, learn how to tell if a peach is bad, underripe, or just right. Here's how pick the best peach of the bunch every time. Look First things first: how do the peaches look? Ripe peaches come in shades of golden yellow, red, and blush pink. The skin near the stem tells you more: a golden hue indicates a ripe peach, while pale yellow to pale green suggests that the peach still needs time to ripen. Avoid those with shriveled skin, bruises, dents, or olive-colored spots. Touch Gently press into each peach to determine its ripeness. If a peach feels somewhat soft and gives where your fingers grip it, it's ripe. As long as its skin doesn't show signs of damage or rot, the softer peach, the sooner you should eat it. If a peach feels firm, it needs more time to ripen. You can, however, use these harder, tarter peaches in dishes like peach coleslaw, caprese, and Spinach Salad with Peaches and Pecans. Choose the peaches that will be ripe when you're ready to eat them. Smell Peaches should smell sweet and fragrant. If a peach lacks a scent, it also lacks flavor. The good news is, all it needs is time to ripen. Buff Strickland How to Store Peaches When you get your bushel of peaches home, do a little inspection. Separate out the ones that are ripe and ready to eat from the ones that need more time. (You could even line them up according to how ripe you think they are so you eat them as they're ready.) Anything that's unripe and needs more time, place it shoulder (stem) side down on a counter or shelf and leave it at room temperature to ripen. Check them daily to see which ones are ready to be eaten. If any of the fruit is already ripe but you're not ready to eat it, you can store the peaches in the refrigerator for two to three more days. However, don't wait too long. The peaches will start to dry out, which can greatly impact the flavor and texture. Related: What's the Difference Between Peaches, Nectarines and Apricots? How to Freeze Peaches the Best Way How to Buy, Store, And Eat Peaches Peach Cocktails for Summer Sippin' Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit