Ina Garten's Genius Tip Makes Peeling Peaches Easier Than Ever
When the sunny seasons roll around, biting into a juicy peach with fuzzy skin is the epitome of decadence. But when you're making recipes like seared pork with peach chutney or slow cooker peach butter, you may not want the added texture of the fruit's skin mixed into the rest of your recipe. You can use a peeler or a knife to remove the outer layer of your fruit, but by doing so, you risk sawing up some of the valuable, succulent insides. Luckily, thanks to pristine advice from Ina Garten, there's an easier way that makes it completely possible to peel peaches by hand.
In her recipe for peach and blueberry crumbles, Garten advises blanching her peaches. Just like you can blanch tomatoes, carrots, and other veggies, these fruits will benefit from a hot and cold shock as well, which will make the skin slide off quickly and easily. All you have to do is dunk your fruits in boiling water for up to a minute, then plop them in an ice bath to cool them down. Afterward, it shouldn't be much trouble at all to separate the skin from the flesh while keeping the rest of your peach intact.
Score your peaches for easier peeling
Not every peach is created equal, so while the basics of this blanching process remain the same across the board, you may have to adjust your method slightly. Make sure your pot is big enough to submerge the fruits completely, so avoid a simple saucepan here. If you're blanching a ton of peaches and they're starting to overlap, however, you can also do this process in batches. And when it comes to choosing your fruit, avoid overly ripe, mushy ones that may start to fall apart in the boiling water.
Sometimes, you may get a particularly stubborn peach that doesn't want to shed its skin in just one minute. If that's the case, feel free to dunk it back in boiling water for another 30 seconds, then transfer it to the ice bath and try again — and if it really doesn't want to cooperate, it may not be ripe enough. If it's your first time trying this and you want to avoid any trouble, you can also lightly score the bottom of the fruits before boiling them, so that when the time comes, you'll have an opening through which you can begin to peel. It may take a little extra effort, but the payoff will be worth it when the skin slides away easily in your hand.