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In Season: Peaches

Posted by Grace Kang, August 8, 2009 at 12:00 PM

Photograph from totalAldo on Flickr

The sweet, almost sensual smell of peaches evokes lazy, hazy days of summer. There's something about bringing a peach to your nose, taking a whiff, and breathing in that fuzzy fragrance. When ripe, they're rich and heady jewels that are best eaten fresh, but since some may find it difficult to polish off the dozen or so that come in a tray, I've compiled our best peachalicious recipes. At the market, choose ones that have a slight give to them and handle them gently on the way home. If they're fully ripe, store them in the fridge, but eat them at room temperature. Besides the firmness of the flesh, the most helpful indicator of ripeness for me is smell. If they smell gorgeous, they'll taste gorgeous. If the fuzz bothers you, you can wash them to minimize the fuzzy texture on the tongue. If you don't like the peel at all, then blanch them for one minute, followed by a dunk in ice water, and the peel will come right off, no hard feelings.

Peaches are at their simplest glory when eaten raw, dripping in your hand, but they also pair beautifully with dairy. Add them to a creamy smoothie, a lassi (a personal favorite), or our own blended peach cream, which really is the epitome of "peaches and cream." [After the jump, a peach feast awaits.]

Peach Recipes

• Poached Peaches
• Peach Caprese Salad
• Grilled Peaches with Fresh Raspberry Sauce
• Peached Pork
• Tipsy Summer Peach Pudding
• Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart
• Blended Peach Cream

Do you have any juicy recipes to share with us?

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Tags: In Season, peaches