One Fruit Suffers The Most From Grocery Store Supply Chains

How many times have you picked up fresh fruit from the grocery store only to discover it was bland or dry once you got it home? It's a common frustration. Reddit is full of threads from shoppers complaining that "strawberries don't taste like strawberries anymore," and articles explaining why grocery store produce sometimes falls flat. Oranges, blueberries, and watermelons are also regularly called out, but peaches are among the worst. Thanks to the way supermarket supply chains work, supermarket peaches often end up bland and disappointing. There are a few specific reasons why.

Tasting Table talked to Megan McCarthy, edible garden chef at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, who is also the founder of Healthy Eating 101 and a Have A Plant ambassador, about disappointing fruit. We asked what she thought was the worst fruit to buy at the grocery store and why, and peaches were her immediate answer. "They're usually harvested before they're fully ripe to prevent bruising during shipping," she explained. "While they'll soften on your countertop, they won't continue developing much more sweetness after they're picked."

Part of the problem is how stores prioritize qualities in fruit like peaches. "Peaches need to appear perfect in the grocery store, so transportation is sometimes more important than delivering an exceptional sweet flavor," McCarthy said. "Peaches often require a picture-perfect aesthetic with a firmer texture, less aroma, and lower sugar content." So even though that grocery store peach looks good, a lot of what would have made it tasty may have been lost.

Salvaging a bland peach can be difficult. "You can always grill, bake, or sauté your peaches to bring out more sweetness," McCarthy suggested, but that doesn't help if you're hoping to enjoy the peach fresh. You can boost your chances of picking a good peach at the store with a simple tip, though. Use your fingertips, rather than your whole hand, to give the peach a gentle squeeze. If it has a little give and springs back slightly instead of feeling hard as a baseball, you've probably found a good one.

It's also important to make use of your other senses when peach shopping. "A locally grown, tree-ripened peach has an intense floral aroma," McCarthy said. A squeeze and a sniff can go a long way to finding the tastiest fruit available.

If picking grocery-store peaches is proving a fruitless endeavor, there are other options. "I encourage people to buy peaches from a local orchard or farmers market whenever they're in season — you'll experience the fruit the way it was meant to taste," McCarthy said. The fruit will often be juicier and sweeter than anything a grocery store can offer.

As McCarthy mentioned, you can enhance their flavor by cooking peaches, and that means you'll need some good peach recipes. A classic peach cobbler may be your best bet with fresh, summer peaches, but you don't have to stop there. From peach galette to peach butter, we have over a dozen peach recipes to make the most of the fruit this summer.