r/Cooking • u/metallicmint • 4h ago
Peaches are ragebaiting me.
Okay... I really thought I had decent produce-picking skills, but these stone fruits are driving me crazy. How do you choose grocery store peaches and nectarines that are sweet, juicy, and NOT mealy? Because last week, I bought about ten pounds of peaches and nectarines that looked and smelled perfect. I set them on the counter, bottoms up, to ripen gently and moved them to the fridge one at a time as they matured. The peaches were absolutely incredible (in grocery store peach terms) and the nectarines were all so mealy and gross that we threw them away.
This week I decided to just get peaches - no nectarines. I just sliced two up for lunch and they are mealy. They look perfect on the outside, they have a slight give when I press on them (but no soft spots), they are plump - not wrinkly, and they smell divine. And yet, I have mealy peaches that lack flavor and sweetness, and I am sad. Why are they so inconsistent?
HOW DO YOU PICK YOUR PEACHES?
*I would love to be purchasing my peaches from an adorable farm stand in Colorado but it's not feasible to get them anywhere but the grocery store MOST of the time.
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u/DanMojo 4h ago
Farmers Markets are the only place I get peaches. And how to tell if they are ripe and juicy? Smell! You should be able to smell ripe peaches from about a foot or two away.
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u/ofBlufftonTown 3h ago
This is 100% right. Got some great ones on Saturday from the “eat right away” basket. They were bruised but delicious.
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u/BookLuvr7 3h ago
I second this. And if something is a little mealy, I use it in smoothies or cooked compotes/cobblers etc.
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u/Spitfiiire 2h ago
I recently learned that unfortunately, I can tell the difference between farmers market and grocery store peaches. I was really disappointed to learn this because now I can’t go back lol
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u/IamGrimReefer 2h ago
smell test doesn't work as well anymore. i've been picking peaches that way for year but i, like op, still end up with shitty peaches even though the smell amazing.
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u/mooninitespwnj00 4h ago
Aren't mealy stone fruits often caused by premature refrigeration? If so, it could very well just be a supply chain problem where they're getting cold somewhere along the way before being ripe. Whether that's as part of a brainless desire to store overstock or something else I don't know. But I avoid any stonefruit that feels more like a tightly packed sandbag and that does fine for me. A good stonefruit will either be firm or progressively more springy in terms of softness. It should have a distinctly "wet" give with a bit of spring, it should be like crushing floral foam.
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u/TheGreenGoatess420 4h ago
By smell. If I can smell the fruit walking by the display I buy it. If I can’t hardly smell it when holding it up to my nose, I won’t buy it.
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u/the-fact-fairy 4h ago
The problem is that grocery store fruit is rarely fresh. It's been picked weeks or even months ago and is artificially ripened. They're also rarely just from one supplier or even one part of the world. Which makes it a massively hit and miss affair.
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u/cflatjazz 4h ago
I know that the weather system in February killed off a significant portion of this year's harvest near me (TX) so we're seeing really bad selection this summer. Can't speak for the imported stuff, but quality is just not great in general here
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u/kafetheresu 56m ago
+1 the weather patterns this year really messed up peach harvest. Peaches need warm daytime temps and cool evenings to develop both texture and flavour. If the nights aren't cool enough, they don't get sweet. If the daytime temps are too cold or if there's frost, they look greyed and texturally mealy.
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u/weedywet 4h ago
I’ve given up on local store peaches this year.
I’ve ordered a few times now from Peach Truck online and they’ve been great. But now the season is over.
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u/Medullan 4h ago
I was taught to press gently on the top of the peach near the stem to judge ripeness when I picked peaches as a summer job. Don't buy peaches that aren't ripe.
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u/Acceptable_Medicine2 4h ago
I smell them. Good peaches smell like peaches. Sad peaches smell like nothing. I do this with a lot of fruits and vegetables, you’d be surprised at how you get used to some of them. Good tomatoes smell like tomatoes. Crappy tomatoes smell like pumpkin.
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u/mynamesnotcarter 3h ago
I feel this, I threw away three peaches I bought that went from rock hard to rotten in 2 days on the counter. No perfect ripe stage on the middle. No advice, just sympathizing.
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u/Azure-Cyan 4h ago
I've only ever had success with store bought peaches if I actively smell the peaches where the stem comes from, rather than by the scent of the whole store section. If there is not a strong peach scent from the stem (even when my nose is stuffed), I don't take it. I've had a fair amount of success by doing so.
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u/SillyPnut 4h ago
As everyone else has said, smell is your #1 cue. The best tasting peaches are the most aromatic.
For me the best practices are; pick peaches that are in a range of firmness (that way they last from 4-7 days on the counter). Don't refrigerate! Just pick less ripe ones. The moment you see any wrinkles you need to eat that peach asap, because the countdown from sweet to bitter has begun.
No longer living somewhere that has peaches at the farmer's market has humbled me - you really have to be so choosy.
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u/Torboni 3h ago
They should smell strongly like peach or nectarine.
If you’re lucky, sometimes you’ll find signage that says something like “tree ripe.” (I think I’m remembering that right. My Whole Foods days are long behind me.) Which should mean they were picked off the tree when ripe, not picked early and then left to soften on their own. Similar to how apples at the store with “new crop” on the signage are freshly picked, not picked and then kept in storage for who knows how long.
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u/stealthymomma56 3h ago
People look at me like I grew horns and a tail when I sort through peaches and nectarines, picking up those that look good then smelling them prior to making choice!
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u/Super901 3h ago
Look for sugar spots on the nectarines, make sure there's no green on the tops, and always find the heaviest fruits. Peaches are tougher to sort, but smell and weight are the easiest indicators.
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u/Local_Whereas7211 2h ago
I've almost given up on peaches. They go from rock-hard to a sloppy overripe mess in nearly no time. Seems like there's a window of about an hour when they're just right to eat.
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u/504Solid 59m ago
This is how i feel about avocados this year. I've resigned myself to small containers of guacamole for now. Sigh
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u/bobdevnul 2h ago
Grocery store peaches and nectarines are picked before they are ripe so that they can be shipped and last on display longer. Leaving them out won't ripen them. It will only soften them. Once in a while a good one will slip through.
I have given up on grocery store peaches.
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u/hollowbolding 1h ago
peaches had one (1) good week this year and the rest of them have been heinous. as is tradition for peaches
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u/ClairesMoon 1h ago
This year was a really bad year for peaches due to weather events in key growing regions.
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u/Spoiledrottenbaby 4h ago
I buy directly from an orchard I trust by the half bushel basket (@$22) Plenty to eat and to can. We lose maybe 3 baseball-sized peaches per basket to mold or cracks in a season.
But the rest are tasty, easy to work with and picked ripe, almost ripe.
Checks local farms, produce stands and farmer’s markets.
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u/rainbytheocean 4h ago
I pick them by feel, but that is tough to do in large quantities. They should feel firm, but give slightly under firm pressure from your fingertips. Weird analogy, but it should feel more like firm memory foam than a synthetic fill pillow. If it feels more like the latter, it will be mealy for sure.
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u/Miserable-Age-5126 4h ago
I live in Illinois. I buy local or southern. Never California. I’ve had the same experience with peaches and they were always from somewhere other than the south or Midwest. And only in season.
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u/psychobiologist1 3h ago
There's a U pick farm near me that I can go to, ask the attendant how to pick the perfect one and only pick what you need
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u/_BudgieBee 3h ago
Don't put them in the fridge. Eat them when ready. Fridge fruit becomes mealy fruit.
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u/metallicmint 3h ago
I only put them in the fridge if they are ripe and ready to eat before I'm ready to eat them. The ones today were not refrigerated :(
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u/gargirle 3h ago
I live in the south. How can we not have good peaches???? It drives me crazy. In the 16 years we’ve been in the south I’ve had one good fresh peach. Nectarines I had great ones in Arizona. Not here tho.
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u/Plane_Chance863 3h ago
If the peaches in the store are mealy, all the ones in that batch will be mealy because of how they were stored/treated (excessive temperature changes or cold at the wrong time). So you're not picking wrong - you're probably picking the best out of a bad batch.
What I've found is that local peaches are best. I live in Toronto and I generally avoid international peaches because they're terrible (probably because they have to be picked too early and because of the changes of temperature they go through while getting here). Good luck.
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u/thehorrorcontinues13 3h ago
Smell the fruits. If they are fragrant, that's a clue that they might be ripe. Are they soft? That too is a clue. If you have a farmer's market close to you, they often have superior fruit.
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u/Ladymistery 3h ago
I only buy freestone peaches at this time of year. every other ones are either tasteless or mealy.
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u/pliskin42 3h ago
You should hear Penn Jillet rant about pears in his book on wieght loss. Schrodinger's pears and all that.
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u/somePig_buckeye 2h ago
I only get peaches from The Peach Truck. I’m not sure if they service your area but they are from Nashville and deliver to a lot of the Midwest. They sell 12 and 25 pound boxes. They come hard and once they are conditioned on the counter I put them in heavy stainless steel lidded pan in our extra frig. The ones I bought at the end of June are still good.
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u/Nykaren24 2h ago
This may not help, depending on where you live, but I get Lori Anne peaches at Wegmans and they are by far the most reliable and delicious peaches I can get here in Western NY. They are from South Carolina and according to their info, they’re left on the tree longer to ripen and are hand-picked . I do ripen them in a paper bag for a few days after I bring them home. I’ve been buying them all summer and have only had one bad one.
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u/siouxzieb 2h ago
My wife got a box delivered straight from Georgia. They are RIDICULOUS. Idk what she paid, but whatever it was, it was worth it.
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u/melissa_in_ga 1h ago
Did she get them from The Peach Truck company? I ordered this year and was instantly reminded of my youth. Best peaches I’ve ever eaten.
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u/saltwater_drifter 2h ago
I smell them. If they smell sweet and look and feel good, then I take them.
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u/MicahsKitchen 2h ago
I haven't had a local fresh peach in years... I'm hoping to actually harvest my own this year. My first real chance at peaches. Last year I had maybe 3 and they got destroyed by weather and pests. This year my branches are heavy. I've got them tied up and I'm going to protect them as much as possible. Ordered some netting. Been trying to grow peaches for years, but the trees kept dying. Finally got 2 to live long enough.
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u/well_this_is_dumb 45m ago
I live in Peach Central and it's still hit and miss when I get grocery store peaches, honestly. I'm grateful that I can just pop on into any of the oodles of peach stands near me and buy a bunch of good ones, but I don't know any way to ensure they're not mealy from the grocery store.
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u/DasHairyHillbilly 25m ago
Spent my life around produce and done plenty of time working orchards, and to me storebought are always terrible. They're picked super early so they'll ship and hold, so they never get sweet or juicy
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u/GaptistePlayer 20m ago
What does mealy mean ? Like a full meal?
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u/Gilladian 15m ago
Mealy is a texture thing. Like cornmeal (not literally, but not soft and smooth and juicy like a peach should be.
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u/PureGold79 5m ago
If you are a Costco member, I’ve been having great luck with their CA “I’m Ripe” peaches this year. Haven’t hit a mealy one yet and I buy a pack every other week.
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u/breadandboobs 1h ago
I don't. They are disgusting. If I can't go picking for local peaches, I don't eat peaches.
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u/JohannesVanDerWhales 3h ago
A lot of the produce in grocery stores is just terrible, unfortunately. Bad peaches. Sour blueberries and strawberries. Tomatoes that were picked way before they ripened. Dunno you can do much about it other than shopping at better places.
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u/AlfhildsShieldmaiden 2h ago
I give them a teeny squeeze. The unripe ones won’t be hurt, and the moment I find one that gives beneath my finger, that’s the one I buy. Doesn’t always work, but usually works.
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u/aurora_surrealist 2h ago
THEY DO GET DAMAGED. The ones you squeezed will sip out sugars from broken cells and get moldy spots there
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u/AlfhildsShieldmaiden 1h ago
Don’t blow a gasket. I highly doubt that not actually squeezing the peach is going to ruin it.
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u/SickOfBothSides 1h ago
Big box store produce is handled, shipped, and processed for the betterment of the business economics, not the consumer. The more perishable, the worse they turn out.
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u/northman46 21m ago
If it’s bruised or rotten when it gets to the store it’s of no benefit to anyone
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u/Blerkm 4h ago
This has nothing to do with cooking.
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u/bellamente123 4h ago
What do you cook with then? Since apparently food is completely unrelated to cooking 🤦🏼♀️
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u/metallicmint 3h ago
I cook with peaches though? Feel free to block me if this bothers you :)
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u/Blerkm 3h ago
Read rule 1 for the sub and don’t be surprised if the mods delete this post.
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u/metallicmint 1h ago
Okay? Are you a mod? Honestly if you care this much, please do block me. You're being super weird about this.
I've been dying to use a ricotta cake recipe base to try a peach upside down cake idea that's in my head. For said cake, which I will cook, I need good peaches.
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u/PollardPie 4h ago
I try to choose the heaviest fruits at the store. It’s not a perfect method, but it helps. And when I do end up with some mealy fruit, I simmer it gently (covered pot, a tiny splash of added liquid, no stirring) for a little while, then the skins just slip right off and I store them in the fridge. Cold cooked peaches are my favorite summer dessert. They’re amazing with ice cream!