21 Sweet + Savory Peach Recipes to Make Before Summer Ends (2024)

FAQs

What to do with end of season peaches? ›

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to use up those overripe peaches, like peach pies, peach cobbler, peach cakes, peach smoothies, and even peach ice cream. Cooked peaches also make a great companion for more savory dishes, especially when they're combined with chicken or pork.

After removing the peel, slice your peaches and set them aside. In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup with water and sugar. Once your simple syrup cools, use it to coat your peaches before placing them in freezer bags. With this storage method, your peaches can last up to one year in your freezer.

Storing Ripe Peaches

Ripe peaches are best when eaten right away, but if you have more than you can eat in a single sitting, stash them in the refrigerator for up to a couple days. The cool temperature slows down ripening and prevents the peaches from quickly spoiling.

You can peel them raw, but it is easier to blanch the peaches first so the skin falls right off. But, if you're in a rush and just want to seal in that fresh summer flavor as soon as possible, you can place whole peaches right into a freezer bag.

Freezing peaches is a little easier and quicker and produces wonderfully sweet and delicious peaches to put in your freezer. Canning peaches produces jars of peeled and halved peaches for your pleasure.

Slice peaches and line them on a baking sheet. Use parchment paper or foil on the baking sheet to make it easier to remove. (Also, leave enough room between peach slices so they don't fuse.) Place baking sheet in the freezer until peaches are firm—usually three hours.

However, peach season only runs from May to September, which doesn't give us much time to enjoy this fruit. But hey, you can always slice up the peaches well ahead of time, and then freeze or can them to ensure their freshness for a long time.

Blanching peaches loosens their skin and makes them super easy to peel. The heat helps separate the skin from the peaches so the peels slip off, rather than being needed to be cut off. Put the peaches in the boiling water, making sure they are entirely submerged. Blanch them for 40 seconds.

Creamy goat cheese, mascarpone and bleu cheese all add richness and depth to peaches. Try grilling peach halves, filling cavities with any of these cheeses and then drizzling with honey, sprinkle with toasted nuts for crunch and texture and you've got the perfect summertime dessert.

How do you store peaches for the winter? ›

In the fall, put the dry cleaned pits into a plastic bag and cover them with water. Put them in the refrigerator. On the second day, pour out the water and put them back into the refrigerator for the winter.

Most commercially grown stonefruit are picked before they reach full ripeness because they continue to ripen off the tree. If you find yourself with unripe peaches all you need to do is pop them into a brown paper bag out of direct sunlight at room temperature. Within a day or two they will have ripened.

Blanch the peaches and then freeze them.

Carefully place the whole, fresh peaches into boiling water for about thirty to sixty seconds. Then plunge the peaches immediately into a bowl of ice water. Peel the peaches and freeze the whole or sliced peaches in a plastic freezer bag.

Some say removing the first fruits of a young peach tree will allow the tree to focus its energy on growing strong roots and developing its size so that it will produce larger amounts quicker and be able to provide adequate nutrients to its fruit in future seasons. While others say this is true, but not necessary.