Find The Best Peaches At The Supermarket Using This (Harmless) Squeeze Test

A perfect peach is one of the most rewarding fruits to find at the market, but also the most frustrating. The search process can be rife with hard, unripe specimens, too-soft and rotting ones, and other subpar fruits you don't want to end up buying. To put an end to our shopping woes, we asked Nick Moless, Produce Senior Team Leader at Whole Foods Market & Amazon Worldwide Grocery, how to find the best peaches to take home.

Moless explained that using your senses is the best way to gauge the quality of peaches. While many of us have squeezed one in our hand to see if it's ripe, Moless recommended a gentler approach, telling us to "give the peach a gentle squeeze near the stem or the sides" and "use your thumb and fingers, not your whole hand." This method is effective yet harmless, as it won't make a large bruise in the fruit that will cause it to rot quickly.

The produce expert added that if the peach "feels firm like a baseball, it's not ready. If it feels soft, with a little give where the flesh springs back a bit, this is the golden zone for a perfect peach experience." Meanwhile, if the fruit is super soft, squishy, and delicate, it might be suitable for ways to use up overripe peaches, but it won't stay edible for long. Plus, texture isn't everything. Moless also advises shoppers to use their eyes and noses.

The scent and appearance of a peach are just as important as the texture. Nick Moless told us that the fruit should smell "sweet, floral, and fragrant. If it has no smell, it's probably not ready." Additionally, "ripe peaches will bear no green tint and have a rich golden color with a red blush."

If you want to stretch the shelf life of some perfect peaches, Moless advises putting them in the fridge. This is indeed one of the best ways to keep peaches fresh, though if you have a huge harvest, you might want to consider canning and freezing. That said, there's no saving a peach that's too far gone. Moless said that if the fruit "leaves a wet spot or is oozing juice, it's like the peach is crying because time is up!"

While wrinkles on a peach can mean that it's very ripe, Moless says, "If the skin is wrinkly, that means it's dehydrating on the inside and likely to be dry and mealy." If you've got wrinkled fruits that still taste good, eat them straight away. He also cautioned about other red flags: "If there is mold near the stem or blossom end, it's time to compost it! And if it has a strong, fermented smell, that means it is turning into peach wine". Luckily, you now know how to pick perfect peaches that won't sour on you soon, giving you enough time to use them in the best peach recipes.