Muddled, grilled, poached, or fresh off the pit, there’s more than one way to enjoy summer’s fresh peaches
Step 1: Pick the perfect peach
The best recipes start with the freshest ingredients, and peaches, naturally, are no exception. Stone fruits come into season in summer, so now's the time to nab them at your local farmers' market. Here are our favorite peaches available around the West.
Click ahead for how to use them...
Wow guests at your next barbecue with vegetarian kebabs of juicy peaches and the Indian cheese called paneer, marinated in yogurt and spices. (Though not traditional, tofu subs in beautifully for the paneer.) Chaat masala spice blend adds a tangy, smoky, intriguingly sulfurous flavor, but the dish is great without it too.
Recipe: Paneer Tikka, Peach, and Mint SkewersUnlike grocery store chutney, which can be quite sweet and one-dimensional, this sauce cooks up tangy, fruity, spicy, and bold. Serve it with samosas, spoon it onto bruschetta or a cheese plate, or smear it in a turkey sandwich.
Recipe: Peach ChutneyThese luscious spiced trifles are just about the most indulgent summer dessert.
Recipe: Poached Peach TriflesA play on the Tom Collins. We muddle (mash) ripe peaches and shake them with peach-flavored vodka.
Peach Lingo: Peaches are called freestone or clingstone, depending on how strongly the pit is attached. Freestone fruit, which easily separates from the pit, is great for eating fresh, poaching, and grilling. Clingstones typically need to be cut away from the pit and are best puréed or turned into preserves.
Recipe: Peach Collins
Both sweet and spicy, these pork ribs can be finger food or a complete dinner when served with brown rice and greens.
Recipe: Peach and Ginger Glazed Riblets
The creamy but low-fat dressing works as both a marinade for the chicken and for drizzling onto the salad. You’ll need 8 skewers (10 in.) for this recipe.
This riff on the classic Bellini cocktail turns it into a sleek little dessert.
Recipe: Bellini Sorbet
Shrimp salad gets an Indian makeover, with the peach standing in for mango.
Recipe: Curried Peach and Shrimp Salad
White peaches turn a soft shade of pink when poached.
Peach-peeling secret: Fuzz is a beloved characteristic of the peach, but when cooked, it can become tough. Remove the skin easily by scoring an X into the top and bottom of the fruit with a paring knife. Ease it into a pot of boiling water for 20 seconds, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Rub skin at the X to loosen; then rub it off.
These crêpes are simple to make and fill, and can be mostly done the day before.
Very ripe peaches are the flavor secret to this simple ice cream. Reader Patti Devlin uses unpeeled peaches because she likes the flavor the skins add. Our tasters preferred the smoother texture that results from peeling the fruit. It's your choice.
Recipe: Peachy Peach Ice Cream
Capture the flavor of the season with an elegant purée of cantaloupe and peaches, topped with fresh raspberries and a splash of white Zinfandel or peach nectar.
Recipe: Summer-Fruit Soup
Fresh white peaches and white wine offer a crisp, lighter alternative to sangria's traditional red blend.
Recipe: White Peach Sangria
Juicy, sweet peaches and a touch of orange and lemon juice are the key ingredients to this pie.
Recipe: Rock Creek Lake Fresh Peach Pie
Store-bought cooked chicken takes on a whole new dimension in this light and very flavorful dish.
Serve this succulent summer martini with freshly shucked oysters and warm olive bread smeared with a soft blue or gorgonzola cheese.
Susan Johnson of Palo Alto, California, flavors her peaches with sweet spices and peppercorns.
Recipe: Spiced Peaches
This super-simple recipe has only five ingredients, making it perfect for last-minute summer entertaining.
Jennifer Jasinski, chef and co-owner of Rioja in Denver, makes her salad with fresh Colorado peaches and a Spanish blue cheese, but it’s also good made with many Western blue cheeses.