I bought some peaches, that softened a bit on the outside only?

[applecrisp]

Sometimes when I buy peaches, I get a dud, it gets a bit soft on the outside, but not all the way..... it just seems to go bad. When you smell them they are just not right. Kind of like a weird rancid smell (ok can't really explain it).

Any ideas on why this might happen. Just a guess, but I was wondering if they are picked too far in advance.

Thanks.

[blazedog]

I don't know if this is what you mean but last year my peaches were really hit or miss. Some of them would rot without really getting ripe and it was almost impossible to determine whether that would happen based on looking at them in the store.

The peaches I got from the Farmers Market were all okay of course but some weeks I just couldn't make a special trip.

It really cut short my enjoyment of stone fruit last summer. There is a whole thread on the subject from last summer as a lot of people had the same problem.

[Hammster]

Do you put the stone fruits in a paper bag with the top rolled down and let them ripen for a few days? Generally they are underripe in the stores here and after a few days in a paper bag they are perfectly ripe. I put them into the fridge once they reach that ripe stage to stop the ripening.
Note that an apple or banana put in the paper bag with the stone fruits can help speed ripening of the stone fruits too.

[applecrisp]

That's what happened --- they all look the same when I am picking them out at the store, but sometimes some just go bad.

I bought peaches a few times this season, and some were great, but a few I had to toss.

Thanks Blazedog.

[applecrisp]

Hammster ---

I don't always use a paper bag -- but for the batch so far this season, I did put them in a paper bag to ripen.

Hammster, do you think fruits ripen better in a bag? Not real concerned about speed, just wondering if fruit ripen more uniformly or something, when in a bag vs just out on the counter.

I bought some more peaches today, and hopefully they will be good. I would have liked some cherries, but at $5.99/lb, I passed on them today -- considering I ate a lb of them in record time (and I mean record time) this weekend.

Thanks,

[bbenedict]

I'm in Georgia, the Peach State, and we haven't had a good peach year in at least 5 years. I don't know where you live, but NEVER buy peaches from Lane Packing. They always are like you described yours even when I bought them directly from the orchard.

I bought a whole box last week at our local market and they were fabulous. The vendor said that I should keep the peaches in the box with the lid shut to ripen them. Worked like a champ. They were ready in two days.

Of course, these were great peaches to begin with which makes a difference. I feel your pain though, for the past 5 years I've bought peaches that smelled great and never ripened. And I LOVE peaches.

Bonnie

[Hammster]

Hammster ---

I don't always use a paper bag -- but for the batch so far this season, I did put them in a paper bag to ripen.

Hammster, do you think fruits ripen better in a bag? Not real concerned about speed, just wondering if fruit ripen more uniformly or something, when in a bag vs just out on the counter.

I do think they ripen more evenly (uniformly) when placed in a paper bag. Now if they have soft, or bad, spots, it won't improve those. Those spots will just continue to "ripen" along with the rest of the fruit. Also, I only put one layer of fruit in a bag. I never pile the fruit on top of each other. I guess my thinking is that the weight of the fruit, and the downward pressure contact might make soft/bad spots during ripening.

I think if the peach doesn't smell a little like a peach when picking it out at the store, don't get it.

[tovie]

The only place I can get decent peaches is at the farmers' market when they're in season.

I quit buying them at the grocery store several years ago. They never get ripe, no matter what I do - on the counter, paper bag with a banana, whatever, they just rot.

I guess I always figured they were picked too soon, but I don't really know that for a fact.

[Hammster]

I've stopped buying white peaches and really large peaches. They seem to ripen fine, but they always seem dry and mealy (wooly?). No juice in them at all. Weird.

[blazedog]

FWIW, I do attempt to "ripen" in a brown bag if they are still hard when bought but that doesn't make any difference as the peaches will rot without ripening to an edible state.

[Kiwismommy]

I've stopped buying white peaches and really large peaches. They seem to ripen fine, but they always seem dry and mealy (wooly?). No juice in them at all. Weird.

The Niagara Peninsula (where I live) is renouned for peaches, and twice I have tried the white peaches that I bought right from the orchard and both times they have had that mealy texture that you mention. I will stick with the nice juicy ones from now on. Unfortunately it will be a while before our peaches are ready.

[bbenedict]

I think if the peach doesn't smell a little like a peach when picking it out at the store, don't get it.

Sadly, I've even had issues with peaches that smelled like peaches, heavenly, and still had the same issues.

Just bought another box this morning from Pearson Farms at our local farmer's market. These were the "drip down your arm juicy" peaches. Just wonderful!

They'll ship gift boxes. Not as inexpensive as buying a big box at market, but if you want great peaches and can't get them where you are, it might be worth it.

Now off to search for more recipes......

Bonnie

[blazedog]

These seems to be such a universal complaint. I wonder if they introduced peach varieties that look good and ship well but taste terrible just as they did with strawberries and tomatoes since the stuff sold in supermarkets is also generally inedible in my experience.

[LakeMartinGal]

I always have that problem with peaches from the grocery, even if they're southern-grown. I live in Alabama, so I always get the "Clanton County" peaches that are grown right up the road, and rarely have that problem, as I get them at the farmer's market, or from the produce store at the corner, who gets them from a family orchard! I love peaches!!!!!

The ones from the farmer's market last week were not quite ripe, but ripened ~ok on the counter. The ones from the produce store were more ripe, so I ate them before they went bad!

[patt]

These seems to be such a universal complaint. I wonder if they introduced peach varieties that look good and ship well but taste terrible just as they did with strawberries and tomatoes since the stuff sold in supermarkets is also generally inedible in my experience.

If you browse plant catalogs, there are usually comments such as "hold well for market growers" which is when I expect that the unstated part is..."and taste like cardboard."

Peaches are so reliant on water, temperature, time of rainfall" that some years just aren't great. This year, the peaches from the Hill Country are marvelous. THe ones at the Farmer's Market are picked a few days short of ripe and the growers suggest leaving them on the counter for a couple of days.

When I find that they are mealy, I usually slice them then freeze them for using in cobblers or other baking later on. The flavor improves with heat and sugar. Not the same as fresh juicy ripe peaches, but not as irritating as throwing out something I paid good money for.

Patt