It took four days for this peach to ripen, note the dripping juice.
A Ripe Peach Is Worth the Wait
I love peaches too much to eat them as the rock hard flavorless orbs we’ve come to expect from the local grocer. It’s worth every penny to buy from local growers or grow peaches yourself as it seems impossible to ship perfectly ripe peaches. Heck, I can’t take a bag full of my peaches to a neighbor across the street without having jam upon arrival.
After years of trying many techniques, I believe I’ve found the best way to ripen a peach if picked too early or trucked in from another local and picked firm. It’s simple and it works.
A Brown Paper Bag Is Not the Answer
Grocery stores will say to ripen peaches in paper bags, but I’ve never been satisfied with the results and peaches end up rotting or becoming mealy crowded together, victims of stale and moisture-rententive air. It’s the kitchen equivalent of being locked in a school bus on a steamy hot summer day.
How to Ripen a Peach to Juicy Perfection
Step 1: First of all, never squeeze a peach as you basically ruin it. The bruised tissue just rots and consumes the peach in a matter of hours. It took a full year to grow that peach, show a little respect. Select unbruised peaches with nice color, full shape and nice weight for the size.
Beauty and the beastly (if not grubby) garden hand
Step 2: Place the peach or nectarine stem side down on a linen napkin or cotton tea towel as these fabrics breathe. Forget terry cloth as it holds moisture and tends to encourage mold. (You are free to roll your eyes, but I tell you this works.)
Step 3: Make sure the fruit doesn’t touch and is kept in a cool place out of the sun.
Step 4. Cover them up with another linen napkin or cotton tea towel. It may take a few days, sometimes even a week.
Let your treasure rest and ripen.
Step 5: They are ripe when they smell like a peach and the stem side is pressed down a bit from the weight and softening of the peach as it ripens. The resulting peach: perfumed, juicy, soft, delectable.
If you have too many that ripen at once, you can refrigerate them to stop the ripening, but that’s only if you can’t five to six peaches a day.
The juicy white peach above was slightly unripe and hard when picked. Four days later after “resting’ sandwiched between two linen napkins, it was a juice bomb of sugar. I picked them early to beat out marauding raccoons that had discovered the tree.
154 responses so far ↓
1 Miffy // Jul 6, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Peachy idea (sorry!)
I just bought some today at the market and will try your idea. Glad you are back, I missed you!
xo
2 Renae // Jul 7, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Your peach is making me very hungry. I rarely have the patience to allow my fruit to ripen, and that makes me very sad.
3 Joan // Aug 22, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I am indebted to the author of ripening peaches article.
Having purchased a bushel and a half that seemed to be ready for the freezer in a day or two, it was discovered that they had been picked too soon and would need some major help with the ripening process.
Had it not been for the directions above, I would have lost them, or at least they would not have been juicy, tasty and tender to eat.
After waiting a week and a half to be able to process them for the freezer, only one was a great grey mass. No bruises or rot appeared on any of the rest of the peaches.
My grateful thanks to you.
4 Joan // Aug 22, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I have a peach tree on my property that has never produced, what I’d call a good ripe peach. If I leave it too long, then by the time they’re ripe, critters get to them, so I’ve had to pick them too early and I’ve resulted in having most of them go to the compost pile.
I can’t wait to try your way and see what happens.
Thanks, Joan
5 Tom // Aug 23, 2008 at 7:33 am
Thanks for the kind words Joan. I have the same problem with my peach trees. The minute they ripen on the tree, I think a dinner bell goes off for every critter in a five mile radius. In fact I think some squirrels and racoons have a phone tree, so to speak.
6 Terry // Aug 26, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Hi, I am starting to harvest my peaches. I have found the first two peachesw, half ripe and soft put the other half of the peach is hard and green!! Can anyone tell me what happened?! Thanks ahead of time for your time.
Terry in Spokane, WA
7 Honey // Sep 1, 2008 at 7:10 am
Our very old peach tree has developed loads of peaches this year…the weight is such that two branches have broken off and we have many green peaches. Will your method for ripening work with these?
8 Tom // Sep 1, 2008 at 7:34 am
Good question…I think the peaches would need to be a week or two at most from harvesting, but I’d give it try. It seems late in the season so I’d be encouraged that it would work. I had some green peaches I picked before some racoons got them all and it took 7 days but they ripened. Good luck. -Tom
9 JUICY JOSHUA // Sep 24, 2008 at 5:44 pm
IT WORKS.
P.S. – I LOVE THE DIRTY HAND HOLDING THE PEACH. THATS GREAT.
10 Donnatella // May 29, 2009 at 1:15 am
I am presently biting into a semi sweet hard peach. I want to make a pie this weekend.
11 Rachelle @ "Mommy? I'm Hungry!" // Jun 9, 2009 at 5:05 am
It works!!! I asked my Twitter pals how to ripen peaches, and was sent your link.
I had small peaches and they took 2 days. I need them ripe for my TWD post on my blog.
Now I can buy those hard as rock stone fruits and get to eat them in days! yay!! Thank you!
12 Tom // Jun 9, 2009 at 5:12 am
Excellent! Glad to help when a peach recipe is at stake. cheers!
13 Dawn // Jun 15, 2009 at 12:01 am
I recently purchased some peach shaped rocks. After finding your wonderful website I decided to follow your advice and see what happens… it could hurt, right?
Well, my daughters and I just finished two that were dripping with sweet juice and very tasty. I saved the biggest one for my husband, a true peach man.
Thanks for your advice and I will certainly visit again when I need more great advice.
Dawn
14 Tom // Jun 15, 2009 at 4:33 am
Dawn you are welcome, thank you for the kind words and I guess I need to get going and impart more of sage advice.
15 Blue // Jun 16, 2009 at 2:20 am
i’ve long held that there is little in this world that can compare to a perfectly ripe peach. a perfect tree-ripened mango picked fresh and consumed on the shores of a tropical island may come close. and a good pear is pretty great treat too. but a perfect PEACH, now that is nearly impossible to beat.
that said, it’s been years since i had one. i bought some rocks today at my local farmer’s market, and was determined to find a way to make them ripen without rotting simultaneously. passing up a few of the brown paper bag suggestions, i kept searching and found this. i’m excited to try your method and send my thanks for posting your thoughts!
16 Growing Cherries the Size of Apricots (or Not) // Jul 8, 2009 at 1:49 pm
[...] I was blogging about a year ago: The Best Way to Ripen Peaches (and yes this really [...]
17 Jo Ann // Jul 12, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Hey, it worked great. Two days ripened the peaches and they smelled and tasted as if we picked ripe ones from the tree. Thanks so much
18 Tom // Jul 12, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Excellent new Jo Ann — nothing like a ripe peach!
19 Sundaye // Jul 20, 2009 at 10:33 am
We bought rock hard peaches yesterday and my husband put them in the frig…can I take them out and ripen them now after they have been refridgerated
Thank you
20 Tom // Jul 20, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Hi Sundaye, ya you betcha, you can ripen them after they’ve been in the fridge.
21 bob // Jul 24, 2009 at 6:44 pm
thanks. sorry but for us we needed our peaches ripe in 1 day not in a couple of days.
22 bill // Jul 24, 2009 at 6:51 pm
<p>I liked the idea. I have not gotten to try it yet but one day I’m sure I’ll try it. And the pictures are really good!!</p>
23 Carol // Jul 27, 2009 at 4:35 pm
The only method I found that has worked. Thank you!
24 Glenn // Jul 29, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Yup, I tried two between a pair of napkins and one in a sandwich-size paper bag. Between the napkins were ready in two days, and the bag has maybe another day to go.Your method works for me. Thanks!
25 Ruth // Jul 31, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Thanks for this tip. I’m going out to the kitchen right now and employing your strategy!
26 Terry // Aug 8, 2009 at 6:23 pm
How do you ripen a plum?
27 Tom // Aug 8, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Terry this will work for a plum, I just don’t let them get too soft or mushy. I like plums a litte firm and with some tartness, especially when used in baking. Prune type plums like Brooks, Italian, or French Imperial Epinneuse are more freestone if just a little underripe, but just as delicious.
28 max // Aug 12, 2009 at 8:04 am
Thank you so much, our tree is laden this year and I am now going to pick all..!!!!
29 darlene // Sep 6, 2009 at 1:02 am
giving this ripening method a try…wil let cha kno what we think!!!
30 Joel // Sep 8, 2009 at 12:21 am
I’m a bachelor in the big city and don’t have cloth napkins… will paper towels or paper napkins do? How about a pillowcase?
31 Tom // Sep 8, 2009 at 4:12 am
Joel I think all of the options will work, you just need the cloth or paper towel to cover the peaches and be a breathable fabric/paper.
32 norma // Sep 12, 2009 at 1:36 pm
a branch broke on our peach tree leaving us with kilos of underripe fruit , can any one recommend a way of using them
33 Tom // Sep 12, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Norma I don’t know of any green peach recipes, so I’d try to ripen them. It’s late in the season and they may just be a week or two away from ripening. So remove them from the branch, keep them in a cool room, and placed on a cloth (sheet, tablecloth, napkin) and not touching. Then, cover the whole lot with a cloth that breaths–cotton or linen. In a week or two they ripen. I’ve had this work for me.
34 Kellie // Oct 2, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Thank you, Tom! I have been trying the paper bag method and it has not worked about 1/2 the time. (mushy/grainy/early rot). I will definitely try this. I am buying the more expensive organic peaches now and I really hate for them to go to waste. Do you know if your method works for pears?
35 Tom // Oct 2, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Hi Kellie, it does work for pears. There are summer pears like bartlett which ripen in no time and then there are winter pears like seckel, d’anjou, comice and bosc that take a little longer but yield some amazing flavors. I usually eat winter pears when they are firm at the base but the top of the pear at the stem yields to light pressure. They keep in the fridge quite well until you’re ready to ripen.
36 emily // Oct 2, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Hi, I am 11 years old and I am doing a science fair project on fruit ripening and I still need more information about the peach ripening process. Could you help me?
37 Tom // Oct 2, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Sure thing Emily, but I’m not much of an expert on the process of ripening, scientifically speaking, but I may be able to steer you in the right direction.
Here’s a link from Cornell University called ask a scientist that explains why fruit ripens: http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=205
and one from Grit, a magazine about rural living: http://www.grit.com/Garden/What-Makes-Fruit-Ripen.aspx#
38 emly // Oct 7, 2009 at 12:32 am
Thanks you’ve really helped me alot. My science teacher aplaudes you for your advice for me!!!! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
39 emly // Oct 7, 2009 at 12:44 am
Oh i almost forgot i need to know the auther ( you) name to put it on my research report and bibloiblyogrophy, can you help me with this?
40 Tom // Oct 7, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Emily, here’s how you’d reference my blog in your bibliography:
“The Best Way to Ripen Peaches.” http://www.tallcloverfarm.com. Web. 4 July 2008.
41 Two Peaches Are Better Than One // Oct 17, 2009 at 3:20 am
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42 Rosemary // May 15, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Hi Tom….are you still givijng out really great advice ??? Would like to ask you a few quweestions. Thanx,, Rosemary
43 Tom // May 15, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Hi Rosemary, you bet. What’s on your mind?
44 Rosemary // May 16, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Hi & thanx for taking the time to write. I have the peaches all picked and they are resting under the sheet. I saw somewhere on your site how to dip them, etc to save for later. Way too many to eat right now and no nearby neighbors. Could you advise how to do this and does it involve freezing ?? I thought so but could not find article again. Thanx again…Rosemary
45 Tom // May 17, 2010 at 1:33 am
Rosemary, too many peaches to eat is a good problem to have. I think you must have seen the dipping how-to on another blog, but here’s what I’d do.
Ripen the peaches under the cloth. When ripe, cut in half, and place halves on cookie sheet on wax paper or parchment and pop in the freezer. When frozen through, remove and place the halves in a zip lock freezer bags, adding more as they ripen. I wouldn’t bother dipping them in hot water at first to remove the peel. I think the peel protects the flesh when frozen.
While these can’t beat a fresh peach (what can?), they sure are fine when used in baking or smoothies, yogurt, ice cream or jam. Those are some early peaches (jealous); are you in California?
46 Heather // Jun 15, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Thanks for a wonderful and informative post! I just returned from the farmers’ market with some gorgeous but rock-hard peaches. Now I know what to do!
47 Julie // Jun 20, 2010 at 2:24 am
Great! I’ll try it out… My roomie and I picked over eight/hundred peaches, all green ’cause of birds and bugs.
Wish me luck. I hear my freezer calling! (nothing like a fresh peach taste in the middle of winter!)
48 Julie // Jun 24, 2010 at 1:49 am
The more I read, the better it gets! I’m going to make a cobbler tomorrow with the peaches I’ve ripened and start freezing the next batch. Now all I need is more freezer space!
49 Tom // Jun 24, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Julie, having too many ripe peaches is one fine dilemma–here’s to your cobbler, crisp, pie, jam and whatever such abundance brings.
50 These sundaes are just peachy | Forkful of News // Jun 29, 2010 at 8:15 pm
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51 Homemade Sherbet Is a Sure Bet // Jul 3, 2010 at 3:20 pm
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52 Nancy // Jul 6, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Happened upon this info & I’m so excited! Between the squirrels and the BUNNIES (who are standing on their hind legs & picking peaches off my tree!) I’m lucky to get any fruit at all! This is the first year my tree has produced enough after the marauders have struck for me to have any fruit at all. At the rate they’re going, I’m going to have to pick some unripe fruit, so I’m excited to see how this works. Thanks!!
53 reb // Jul 8, 2010 at 3:42 am
I was just talking to my mom about the peaches we used to get from a cousin who grew them–at this time of year the whole house would smell of peaches as they were set to ripen in cardboard trays under all the furniture–I never heard of anyone else ripening them this way so it was so cool to read your instructions. Now I have hopes of actually enjoying a supermarket bought peach!
54 Tom // Jul 8, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Reb, what a great story. I love the idea of peaches on cardboard perfuming the house.
55 Danielle // Jul 12, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Hey Tom,
I am new to this whole peach thing but have a tree that has alot of peaches on it. Some of them have started to ripen but bugs are starting to eat them. So question 1, should I just go ahead and pick the green ones and ripen them, they are about the size of a tennis ball? And question 2, some of them have little black dots on them, is this okay to eat? Thanks so much!
56 Cindy // Jul 13, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Hey Tom,
I rippened some of my peaches and then went to put them up. I noticed they are cling peaches, which makes it more difficult to pit. I noticed some of the peaches when I sliced them in half the pit comes apart and is gooey. Is this normal? I read somewhere the pit is poisonous and didn’t know if it was safe to use these?
57 Annie // Jul 15, 2010 at 11:47 am
Hi, The storm broke my heavy laden peach tree. The peaches are hard but some actually have a peach aroma. they are usually harvested late August. It is mid July. Can they be saved.?? The top broke under the weight of the peach but is still attatched by an inch or two of bark. Will they still ripen on the tree or should I pick them. I covered the broken top with a cloth to keep it wet and then wrapped a plastic bag around that to keep the moisture in.
thanks, Annie
58 Tom // Jul 15, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Danielle: You really want to try to keep the peaches on the tree as long as possible, until they show nice color and size. The black spots shouldn’t be any problem, unless the fruit is mis-shapen or deformed.
Cindy: Split pits happen to my peaches all the time, not to worry, some varieties are prone to it. Sometimes though it will attrack earwigs. The inner seeds are toxic, but I’ve never had any problem with just tossing the seeds and eating the peaches.
Annie: I recommend picking them, as the covered cloth and plastic on the tree will only encourage rot and mold. They really need air circulation. You might save the peaches if they are far enough along in the ripening stage (aroma is encouraging). Just follow the instructions above and you may have too many peaches to eat. I hope so!
59 Lauren // Jul 19, 2010 at 11:37 pm
I am very impressed at the way you assisted Emily both with the advice for resources and how to reference too! It is evident you have a smile in your heart!
Thank you for the peach ripening advice as well!
60 Tom // Jul 20, 2010 at 4:48 am
Thanks Lauren, and you brought a smile to my face as well.
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62 Breanne // Aug 4, 2010 at 9:58 am
Hi, Tom, this sounds great but I do have a question. You say to keep the covered peaches somewhere cool and out of the sun. I live in Hawaii, and room temperature is about 75-80 degrees. Will that mess me up too bad, or just speed up the process? Thanks!
63 Tom // Aug 4, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Hi Breanne, that temp should be fine and just speed up the process, like you said. It’s keeping the peaches out direct sun that’s important–tends to bake them and make them rot rather than ripen.
64 Karen // Aug 13, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Tom, I googled “why do peaches not get their juice”, and came upon your website. I read every question and answer about peaches, my all time favorite fruit. Had peaches in Italy 7 years ago which were to die for and I could never enjoy them as much as I did there. Here in Philly we get peaches from “down South” and sometimes from New Jersey. Recently had 9 or so in 3 paper bags and they never got juicy. I was so disappointed, I thought I had better find out why before wasting any more money. Your answers to everyone are not only informative, but are “sweetly” written. From the city guy who doesn’t have a linen napkin to the little girl doing a science fair project, you warm the heart and provide encouragement. Thanks for being there for all of us peach lovers and taking your time to help us enjoy a the wonder of a peach.
65 Tom // Aug 18, 2010 at 4:15 am
Karen, I’m beaming from ear to ear. You made my day. Thank you taking time to comment, join the thread and send such kind encouragement. By the way, I’m working my way through two cases of peaches from Yakima, WA–um um good!
66 Don E. // Aug 22, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Hi Tom,
I hate green peaches but I get along ok with green nectarines. I went through years of suffering and passing up the nectarines in the supermarket because they greedy produce industry can’t leave them on the tree long enough to even get close to having any flavor.
Then I was in the market and a lady standing next to me heard me grumbling again about the fruit being hard as a baseball.
She said she eats them like an apple.
It never occured to me to try them like that. I bought one for the experimant and was quite impressed. Just eat it like an apple.
But they are not so good like that if they are half ripe. They have to be on the greener side or completely ripe or I won’t touch them. To get ripe nectarines in washington state you have to wait on the fruit stands to start popping up around your area of residence or live in eastern washington such as Yakima and ask the farmers if you can pick yours off there tree for a price of coarse.
Now the peaches are a total different story. I can’t eat them green like the nectarines. They just don’t work out the same.
This brings me to you Tom, my new best friend..
I bought a box of peaches at the local IGA store for $22.50 yesterday. The peaches felt about a week from being etible.
I had two questions for you buddy..
Number one is what is tea cloth? LOL Seriously???
Can some other cotton type of cloth like a towel work your magic?
I am a bachalor and don’t have the fancy stuff at close reach.
The second question is that I have never seen a peach tree on the west side of the mountains but i am assuming you had some growing on your island and actually producing??
I live south of Olympia about 30 miles and if these precious little fruits WILL grow over here I want to get started with growing my own.
I want to get started on this trick as soon as possible. Thanks for your help.
67 Tom // Aug 22, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Don, crispy nectarines, eh? For novelty’s sake, I may give it a try. Now on to your questions.
1. Sorry, I grew up in a house with tea towels (linen hand towels used when company was coming). Now that I read it, it makes me laugh as well. Here’s my point, you need a breathable fabric in manageable size, like cotton or linen napkins or a cut-up cotton sheet. When I have lot of peaches, I use an old cotton table cloth. I put the peaches on one side and fold over the other side to cover. I found thicker fabrics (like terry cloth towels) hold moisture and encourage rotting. (Oh, I can hear quips as I type.)
2. Peach trees do grow west of the Cascades and even better south of Olympia, as you have more sun/heat units than folks in Seattle or those on an island in the middle of Puget Sound.
Here’s the catch, because it rains so much in the winter, peach trees get a fungus called leaf curl, which can kill young trees. You want resistant varieties like Frost, Avalon Pride, Q-1-8, Kreibich, and Charlotte. You may not get bumper crops but you will get some peaches.
Here are links to the ones I grow:
http://tallcloverfarm.com/peach-trees-peach-leaf-curl-resistant-varieties/
http://tallcloverfarm.com/peach-tree-report-2009update-on-leaf-curl-resistant-varieties/
Good luck on growing your own!
68 Don E. // Aug 23, 2010 at 4:19 am
Thanks for the quick update.
Now just one last question. Will your ripening magic work on other friuts such as tomatos? I never liked calling a tomato a fruit. Who thought upo that one any how. LOL Don
69 Julian // Aug 25, 2010 at 1:26 am
I’m gonna give this a try. Strong wind last night followed by rain and abnormally cool temperatures all day today wiped out about half the peaches on my last-ripening tree. Thing is, there’s a fungus that hits the peaches on this tree under these conditions. The ones that fell were mostly rotted by the time I came home from work, so I picked the rest and am currently processing everything ripe for drying or freezing. Howevr, half the rest (about a bushel) are too green.
70 Tom // Aug 25, 2010 at 4:17 am
Good luck Julian, just make sure the peaches are dry or else the fungus will follow your peaches inside as they ripen.
71 Karen // Aug 25, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Tom…could you tell me what is the cause of a chalky after taste/feeling in my mouth after eating a peach? They are ripe, very juicy and properly ‘soft’….but, not particularly sweet, and the chalkiness? I actually ordered them from a well known fruit supplier as they usually have superb produce, and I was tired of what the grocery stores have to offer. Other than when I lived in GA briefly as a child, the last really wonderful peach I had was over 20 years ago outside of Johnson City TX. It was the size of a softball and you had to eat it outside as the juice was dripping from it!
72 Tom // Aug 25, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Hi Karen, chalkiness, it could be a couple things. I’ve had white peaches that were chalky tasting, and found it was the simply the peel which caused the bitterness. Once peeled they tasted fine. Other times I’ve had chalky tasting peaches (usually accompanied by mealy flesh) that likely came from properly stored fruit by the supplier or peaches picked to early by the grower. Not much you can do after that, but gift them to your compost pile.
73 Karen // Aug 26, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Hi Tom…thanks for the speedy reply. I had considered the peel, and peeled the remainder of the one I was eating. Of course by then, I suppose the taste had already been introduced to my mouth. The next I peeled entirely, and was improved, but the taste was still there. I most always remember eating the skin, but do recall that phenomena before. I have actually placed several orders for these at staggered shipping times. If those that arrive today are no better, I guess I will cancel the remainder. I came upon your site looking for an answer to my question, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will bookmark it for the future. Thanks! Karen
74 Allison // Aug 26, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Hi Tom,
I have a peach tree that is full of peaches. The ones at the top are really hard to harvest. Many peaches drop off before I get a chance to pick them. How can I protect the peaches from hitting the hard ground? I have thought of netting or tying a sheet under the tree to catch the peaches, but would rather hear from an expert what works best.
75 Betsy // Aug 30, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Hi Tom,
I love your blog and your island life
!
We picked peaches at a local orchard recently, and the ones i ripened in the bowl on the counter are outstanding. Since we picked a bushel, i put the rest in the fridge. i pulled some out of the fridge recently and tried to ripen them in the same ceramic bowl on the counter, and they never turned quite the same deep orange color and are mush! It must be the refrigeration that is the difference. I am going to try your method with some of the other refrigerated peaches…have you had successful experience with refrigerating and then ripening peaches? Thanks! Betsy
76 Tom // Aug 30, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Betsy, thanks for the compliment. As for your peaches, he’s what works for me.
I ripen all the peaches first. When they are ripe and ready to eat, I place them in the refrigerator. I’ve kept ripe peaches in the fridge up to a week and half (rare as I eat them quickly). They stay juicy and gorgeous.
So ripen them first in the method of this post. Then place them in the fridge and eat as you like. Tomatoes are the same way, don’t refrigerate if unripe.
77 Betsy // Aug 30, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Thanks, Tom. That makes sense. I do that with avocados–ripening them first and then placing them in the refrigerator– and it works well with them. I’ll apply this method with peaches (and tomatoes) now. Thanks so much for the tip.
Best, Betsy
78 Peach LOVER #1! // Sep 2, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Thank you so much! this is awesome! I’ve got peaches in my fruitbowl that need ripening! And thanks to you, I can do it the SMART way.
Your method of ripening is awesome!Thanks again.
79 Jane // Sep 11, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Tom, I loved your idea. It was brilliant, easy and it worked! I purchased a bunch of beautiful organic peaches at Whole Foods to make perserves (for the first time). The recipe came out perfect as the ripeness was just right. Great tip!
80 Tom // Sep 11, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Peach LOVER #1, my pleasure.
Jane, congrats on your first batch of peach preserves. Now you’re hooked no doubt–good! Sweet preserves and your sweet words, thank you very much.
81 gus // Sep 20, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Tom – From what you wrote and what your photo said, the ripening method you use seems to be a very good method. The word is that all of the sweetness of the peach is in side of it as soon as you pick the peach from the tree. The same thing is so for other fruits such as bananas. If you don’t believe that, simply fry a banana and taste it… So, here’s my own method of “ripening” a peach, and it seems to work well.
Cut it in two and remove the pit. Put the two halves (and you can cut them into pieces if you want) onto a microwave oven safe dish and lightly cover the pieces with a paper towel (etc.). Zap the pieces with the high setting for 30 seconds (for a small peach) or for up to a minute and a half for a really big peach. Cool the pieces. Eat them however you care to eat them. Sweet and “ripe” in a minute! (I never met a redneck who would wait around for several days for food of any kind, peaches included.) …
82 Tom // Sep 20, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Gus, thanks for the good laugh and the good tip. Instantly ripe peach; I’ll give this a try.
83 Molly // Sep 23, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Thanks, Tom. I have a table full of beautiful, but hard, peaches ripening as you suggest. In CT this has been a great year for both peaches and apples — more than I can remember. Am I correct that if there is a brown spot on the peach that it is not a good idea to try to ripen it? Since it is late Sept, the fruit is close to ripe anyway and I plan to just make jam from the damaged fruit. Is that what you do?
84 Tom // Sep 24, 2010 at 12:31 am
Molly if the brown spot is just a surface blemish, and not showing any bruising or rot, you should be okay to ripen it. If it looks dimpled, oozing juice, or is softer than the rest of the peach, you may want to toss it or keep a closer eye on it daily. Make sure the peaches aren’t touching. And yep, I make jam or peach butter out of the ugly ones. Good luck!
85 Peach Tree Report 2010: Neither Peachy, Nor Keen // Oct 13, 2010 at 12:45 pm
[...] to thwart the raccoons, and they ripened very nicely off the tree. (Here’s the technique and best way to ripen peaches off the tree.) Not sure if this is the same as Royal Charlotte peach. 2008: Slow steady growth, slow to leaf [...]
86 Nancy // Oct 25, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Outstanding idea. Brought California peaches to my Virginia home, disappointed because they were hard as a rock. Tried your linen napkin idea and can’t thank you enough. EX-CELL-ANT!!!!! You must be on glorious Bainbridge.
87 Tom // Oct 25, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Thanks Nancy! Glad it worked for you, and I’m on the other glorious Puget Sound island: Vashon.
88 Ted // Feb 14, 2011 at 6:55 pm
I’m about to try your peach ripening method in Australia. We have all the same problems of your other correspondents of broken branches and animal (parrot) attack. We don’t make jam or bottle at this stage on our 20 acre hobby farm, we just call all the neighbors so I will be passing on your advice to them. Cheers.
89 Tom // Feb 15, 2011 at 8:10 am
Hi Ted from Down Under, I spent a couple weeks in your beautiful country many years ago, the Barossa Valley and Adelaide. Bet your neighbors love you. Thanks for the comments and visit!
90 Ted // Feb 16, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Its a small world. Many years ago I looked out over Puget Sound from the space needle. Beautiful. Here’s an update – yesterday the Barossa was the latest place to be flooded. It looks like the grape harvest will fail which will hurt the winemakers.
Neighbors are happy and given your advice.
91 Timo // Mar 4, 2011 at 11:18 pm
Love your website! I have quite a few peach trees out here in New Zealand that have all fruited beautifully this year. I’m keen to make the most of them before the birds and possums do. Your ripening advice works well, any ideas for making the most of surplus?
92 Tom // Mar 5, 2011 at 7:23 am
Hi Timo, and thanks for blog love and I return the compliment. Wow, what an exciting journey you’ve been on.
As for the peach surplus, now that is a very good problem to have. Here are my suggestions:
1. Peach butter: simply puree the peaches, add sugar and lemon juice to discourage discoloring, reduce volume by simmering, add spices you like and then bottle or freeze. Makes an amazing spread.
2. Barter peaches; I give you peaches, you give me peach pie, or some canned peaches or lamb kebabs.
3. Peach sauce: really easy, chop peaches, heat a bit, add sugar and lemon juice. Simmer briefly. When gloppy and a little thicker, freeze or can. You can use it on ice cream, in yogurt, on toast or crumpets, in pudding or just by the spoonful.
Good luck and our hearts go out to New Zealand and the heroic efforts of the men and women there, rebuilding after the earthquake.
93 Joyce // May 11, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Hi, I just removed the first peaches from my young tree (I noticed a bird(?) got to one of them). They are not very ripe so I will follow your advice on ripeing but I have another problem. Once I picked the few I had left I noticed the stem side of the peach had split open and now there is a hole there. I think the pit split. Is it too late for my peaches? Thanks!
94 Tom // May 11, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Hi Joyce, I’d keep the split pit peaches separate so you can keep a closer eye on them ripening. They may just make it if no flesh is exposed or earwigs lay in hiding. I’ve had that happen and about half ripen and the other half succumb to mold. Good luck!
95 Barbara // May 30, 2011 at 9:37 am
Hey Tom
I just wanted to say awesome blog and i am going to be trying your method of peach ripening here in central Florida i didnt even know we grew Peaches so we went and got about a half a bushel to try most are very hard with about 10-15 of them being soft and juicy.
96 Allison // Jun 2, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Hi Tom! I love your ideas for ripening as I have the same problem so many others seem to have – leaving them on the tree until they’re ripe…well, they get pecked and eaten from everything but us humans! My children picked several bags full tonight so I’m going to use your ripening method. Since I have loads (way more still on the tree), I’m going to have to freeze some. I love your recipes above for the peach butter and the peach sauce…do you peel the peaches first for these two recipes or leave as is? (My peaches grew in really small this year so I have billions of small ones – okay, not really billions, but probably close to a thousand, so the thought of having to peel that many is more than a bit daunting.
Thanks for your great ideas, plans, recipes!
97 Tom2 // Jun 8, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Hi Tom, I just bought some peaches from a chain grocery store. They’ve been refrigerated. They look beautiful but are rock hard. Will your technique work on fruit that’s been subjected to fridge temperatures for a couple days? Thanks.
98 Tom // Jun 8, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Hi Tom2, Yep it will work, but it may take a 3-4 days to a week to ripen thoroughly.
99 Amazed // Jun 11, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Tom, THANK YOU for this tip! We were able to eat a whole box of Costco peaches instead of losing half of them because they didn’t ripen correctly.
We had a question: do you have any idea why the stems have to be down?
100 Tom // Jun 11, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Thanks Amazed! You know my guess is simply the peach can handle the weight better on the stem side down, say on its shoulders. When placed on the side or upright to ripen, the entire peach presses down on a small dot of area, which usually bruises the peach and then starts rot and fungus on an otherwise unripe peach. That’s my theory.
101 Amazed // Jun 11, 2011 at 5:27 pm
Thanks for the swift response. Your answer makes sense. We appreciate it!
102 RC // Jun 25, 2011 at 10:21 am
Hello !
So happy I stumbled on your blog I have recently discovered White peaches .Apparently so has everyone else because they go fast where I live this week my local produce guy ordered some for me and I got first pick they were not ripe so I put them in a pillow case Hope that does the trick!
wish me luck and thank you so much for your tips !!
103 Tom // Jun 26, 2011 at 7:18 am
Hey RC, welcome, and good for you for trying white peaches. Their subtle sweetness and perfume is really s0mething special. Another place to look for the white peach is Asian markets, where it seems to be well stocked when in season.
With white peaches, it will take a couple days at least and then do a little sniff test for fragrance. Do they smell like a peach? Then ready, and they will keep for several days and ripen slowly until the point of being a juice bomb of flavor. Cheers, Tom
104 Sparklyjen // Jun 27, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Tom,
In my twenties a friend got me to try a perfectly ripe peach from a roadside stand one summer. I had never had anything other than canned peaches up to that moment. The taste memory of that beautiful, perfect peach was so profound that, nearly 12 years later, I am unable to eat and enjoy fruit that is not at it’s best. It has been disappointing to say the least. I can’t wait to taste a perfectly ripe peach again! Thank you for your generous advice and kindness : D
105 Tom // Jun 28, 2011 at 5:48 am
Thank you Sparklyjen, I hope this works for you, and indeed there is nothing like a fine, ripe peach on a summer day. Thanks for visiting.
106 monica // Jul 1, 2011 at 4:00 am
I used this method and my peaches got moldy I did exactly what it said to do and I am just wondering why the molded
107 Tom // Jul 1, 2011 at 6:09 am
Hi Monica, mold can be caused by a several variables; it needs nutrients, water, oxygen and favorable temperatures to grow. So to keep mold out of your peach ripening process try to keep your peaches completely dry (don’t wash until you eat them), make sure your fruit is not bruised or damaged in any way, place in a room with great ventilation, and cool temperatures, no excessive heat or direct sun, and use a fabric that breathes, like linen, the fabric has to allow the exchange of air.
Good luck, I hope this helps. Cheers Tom
temperature
108 Andrea // Jul 2, 2011 at 10:51 am
Happened upon this article about a month ago. Your method is fabulous!!! I have yet to have a mealy or hard peach. I have always used the paper bag method but not being fully happy with it I went looking for other ideas. I just have to remember to tell my family why the towels are on the counter and that there are peaches in there!!!
109 Kelley // Jul 8, 2011 at 6:45 am
Thank you for this tip! I just ate the best, most juicy peach. I will never eat a semi-ripe peach again!
110 Joseph // Jul 11, 2011 at 10:34 am
Well, I’m a dissenter from most. I look for the the hardest peach I can find. I love biting into an under rip peach and hearing the crunch as if I am biting into an apple. Just had one of those a few minutes ago
I just like sour peaches and apricots a LOT. Every now and then I will indulge in a nice ripe sweet peach, but for the most part, hard and crunchy is what I love the most. Not mealy, but crunchy and tart 
I know, I’m weird.
111 Tom // Jul 11, 2011 at 11:08 am
Hi Joseph, no judgement here. I mean, one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten included a hard green papaya. At first I thought how can that me good, but I’m here to tell you it was delicious. Here’s to the crunch and here’s to soft, and here’s each to his or her own!
112 Peggy // Jul 16, 2011 at 11:39 am
Thank you for sharing “The Best Way to Ripen Peaches”. Mine were rock hard a few days ago, going into peach bread pudding tomorrow. The aroma is wonderful. I am now excited about buying peaches for the first time in years.
Bookmarked
113 Tom // Jul 16, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Peggy, that’s music to my ears, ummmmm bread pudding!
Tom recently posted..My Strawberry Cake Is Going to the Dogs
114 Curious // Jul 17, 2011 at 4:57 pm
I have a dumb question…how do you test to see if the peach is ripe if you don’t squeeze it?
115 Tom // Jul 17, 2011 at 10:03 pm
Hi Curious, not a dumb question, but nowadays many peaches are varieties that actually don’t get particularly soft and remain firm even when ripe.
You can hold a peach and clasp gently and sense its firmness. Most people push their thumb into it and ruin the peach for further ripening. Look for good color and good weight, even a little green near the stem top is okay.
Commercially I can guarantee you a grocery store peach is not ripe and ready to eat upon purchase. You just can’t ship a truly ripe peach and expect it to be consumer ready when unloaded and placed in the produce bin at the grocery store.
I prefer firm peaches that I can ripen at home on their schedule. I just enjoyed a parcel of white and yellow peaches that seemed ripe enough but really took about 4-5 days of tabletop undercover ripening to reach their peak flavor and aroma and juiciness.
Tom recently posted..My Strawberry Cake Is Going to the Dogs
116 Joann Kindermann // Jul 18, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Wanted to share this with you. My son stop at a fruit stand for peches. Two young men were taking care of the stand. They had some peaches and when he ask them if they were freestone. They said “yes” they never have had chemicals on them. We got a laugh out of it.
Trying your cloth idea this time. I will let you know. Thanks Joann
117 Tom // Jul 18, 2011 at 3:10 pm
That’s a good one Joan — had to laugh myself! Thanks for the visit!
Tom recently posted..MacGyver Mom Takes On Mutant Alien Deer
118 Cori // Jul 25, 2011 at 11:03 am
Thanks, I’m trying this out with a box of peaches purchased from my co-op this weekend. We will enjoy them when they’re ripe and juicy and I will be canning lots to save for later
119 Debbie // Jul 28, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Thank you for posting this. I lost a few limbs on my peach tree a couple of weeks ago – well before they were ripe. I started some back on Saturday with cotton sheets and wow, how awesome they are doing. I think I got my first ripe one today, but now need to stop it so the others can catch up and the fact that I’m going out of town tomorrow, but back on Saturday. I told the peaches to behave. I just don’t want to be overwhelmed…
A friend of mine tried this approach also as she picked some of my so not ripe peaches. She canned a couple today, so it’s working great for me and for her.
120 Every Time You Bruise a Peach, a Farmer Cries // Jul 29, 2011 at 9:39 am
[...] The Best Way to Ripen Peaches [...]
121 Tom // Jul 29, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Debbie that’s great. They’ll keep fine in the fridge after being fully ripened, but I don’t recommend keeping them in the fridge when they are unripe and then trying to ripen them, it tends to make them mealy.
Tom recently posted..Every Time a Peach Is Bruised a Farmer Cries
122 Amber // Jul 30, 2011 at 8:30 am
Thanks for sharing this it has worked great! Will this process work for other fruits as well such as apricots?
123 Tom // Jul 30, 2011 at 8:44 am
Hi Amber, yep I find it does work with other stone fruit like apricot, peaches, nectarines and plums.
Tom recently posted..Every Time a Peach Is Bruised a Farmer Cries
124 Peachy at the Beachy // Aug 1, 2011 at 8:05 am
Tom, first I must start off by saying you are such an amazing man. If there ever was to be a peach Heaven than there is no doubt that you would be the Lord himself. Let’s just say, I would just HAVE to eat the forbidden fruit, yes I said it lol. As a child I would roam the peach fields wondering how to find the perfect peach, never knowing if I would ever find a true method. Now, I finally can rest and wonder no more, I now can spend my time eating these delectable little gifts from Heaven. I thank you very much and will continue to follow you in your travels. P.S always grab life by the horns, but don’t forget your peach
!!!
Peachy at the Beachy recently posted..Every Time a Peach Is Bruised a Farmer Cries
125 Larita // Aug 2, 2011 at 2:43 pm
I’ve found if you wrap peaches in newspaper and place on the counter they ripen pretty fast. I use newspaper for avocados also.
126 Tom // Aug 4, 2011 at 5:12 am
Hi Larita, I use the wrapped newspaper method with my winter pears, as they are stored for a very long time. Thanks for visiting.
127 Tom // Aug 4, 2011 at 5:34 am
Thanks Peachy at the Beachy, after your kind comment, I’m feelin’ a bit special indeed
Cheers!
128 Terry from Arkansas // Aug 7, 2011 at 10:01 am
I tried your peach ripening method and it worked just fine. Of four, one had a little mushy spot on the bottom but otherwise they were peach perfection. Thanks so much for sharing this tip. Gives me a use for my grandmother’s hand monogrammed linen towels. Sweet!
129 Second thoughts… « Momma Pea // Aug 9, 2011 at 9:28 am
[...] of laundry from the trip can wait, the rest of the ripening peaches (found a wonderful way to perfectly ripen peaches!) can wait, the messy house and stinky dog and errands can [...]
130 bluegrass jam, strawberry cake | is there any more pie? // Aug 11, 2011 at 10:42 pm
[...] Tomorrow I will try a new peach-ripening technique I read about on a peach farmer’s blog which involves tea towels, linen napkins and a lot of counter space. If you have recently bought 100 peaches too, you may want to check it out: http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/74/the-best-way-to-ripen-peaches [...]
131 Jon // Aug 20, 2011 at 10:53 am
Works like a charm! No more hard peaches…nor overly-ripe peaches!!
132 orbops // Aug 21, 2011 at 10:18 am
I wonder if my cotton napkins were too thick? Or maybe the humidity was too high in the home (40%). I tried them on nectarines and plums, and after 2.5 days, they all got moldy on the stem side down area.
133 Tom // Aug 21, 2011 at 10:48 am
Jon, glad to hear it — excellent!
134 Jsthvnf1 // Aug 22, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Thanks so much! I love to make fresh peach pie this time of the year but last week when I made one, the peaches were so hard, that my slices were all deformed, as I had such a hard time cutting them. I’ll try your way of ripening them first.
I also like to slice some fresh peaches (about a 17lb lug), mix them with a 6oz can of frozen orange juice that I’ve allowed to thaw completely, 6 cups of sugar, and 6 tsp of Fruit Fresh. Then I put them in the freezer, and they are PERFECT whenever I want to use them!
135 Market Notes: Peach Tart // Aug 24, 2011 at 10:57 am
[...] markets, farmstands, and pick-your-own farms. My kitchen is full of them in varying stages of ripeness, waiting to be savored plain as an exquisite treat on its own, or turned into a luscious [...]
136 Cate // Aug 24, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Thanks! We have the white peaches and they are really huge. We just bought this house so this is our first year with the peach tree. I’ll try your method, it sounds the best I’ve heard so far.
137 Bill // Aug 24, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Those masked 4 legged peach theives can be cut off at the pass by wrapping stove pipe around the trunk and main branches of your peach tree. About 2 in the morning you will hear racoon cursing and the sound of slipping claws on metal like fingernails on blackboard.
138 Tom // Aug 27, 2011 at 8:45 am
Bill, thanks for the tips!
139 Cindy // Sep 8, 2011 at 5:37 pm
I just bought 3 hard canteloupes for $1 after reading your peach-ripening tips. Do you think your method will work on them? Getting out the sheets now for the 40 pounds of Colorado peaches I just picked up. Fingers crossed!
140 Colleen // Sep 11, 2011 at 10:26 am
Thank you so much for the wonderful way to ripen peaches! After returning with a box of peaches from Salmon Arm, BC, I discovered the bottom half were not ripe. I read your article on your blog and proceeded to take a cotton pillow case and lay it flat on the kitchen counter and arrange the peaches inside as you suggested, stem side down. In four days, I had sweet, luscious peaches that went from pale yellow and green to magnificent deep golden peach, red and yellow hues. Putting them in the pillow case was like an incubation that worked like a charm. I am dehydrating them for sweet snacks for fall hiking. Much appreciated!
141 Tom // Sep 11, 2011 at 10:38 am
Cindy, I melons seem to only ripen a little after picking, nothing that ever ups the flavor and sweetest like a peach is capable of. Enjoy those forty pounds of heaven!
Colleen, your comment is music to my ears. So glad it worked for you. Think I may go hi-tech and do a video to post on my blog about ripening peaches.
142 Mary Lou // Sep 28, 2011 at 11:49 am
Thanks so much for your excellent blog. I’ve enjoyed reading it all. Now is the time to try it myself. Peaches are getting there, but not quite yet, just a little color and not much aroma. Tree is heavy and branches are now supported. Weather report has cold front coming into north eastern Ca. next week… should I just pick now and go for it?
143 Tom // Sep 28, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Hi Mary Lou, as long as you don’t get freezing temperatures you should be okay to leave peaches on the tree. Heavy rains may cause branch breakage and split peaches though. You pick some and experiment and see how they ripen off the tree as well if left on days or weeks later. I pick mine when the greenish tint of the skin mellows to yellow or red at the stem end. Good luck, let me know how it goes. And what variety is/are your tree(s)?
144 Mary Lou // Sep 28, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Thanks so much for your quick reply. I’m embarrassed to say that I know peaches are freestone, but I don’t know the name of tree. It’s amazing how many straps are holding the poor tree up. I’ll give you a report after the weekend. Thanks again… It’s just so late for all our trees, apple, pear and peach..all struggling to provide
145 Karen Grant // Oct 8, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Hi Tom. I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog site. I have been ripening my nectarines, plums, pears, quinces and avocados this way for years, sometimes covering every table and counter top available during jamming season…a slow but rewarding process where I can take the occasional peek with out disturbing the other fruit, since I tend to go from left to right with the degree of ripeness. I buy my organic fruits from my local Marin County Farmers Market and sometimes pay upwards of $30 for a flat of stellar fruit I cannot afford to lose. I learned on my great-grandmother’s farm most of my practices, when they’de start picking with a vengence just before the fruit got fully ripe and the robins and cardinals swooped in for the annual forage…btw…have visited Vashon Island…it’s lovely. We pickedblueberries there 7 or 8 years ago. I also think an old pastry chef friend of mine opened a cafe there called Nola’s…
Your New baking, canning, jamming, pickling friend, Karen Grant…Marin County, CA.
146 Tom // Oct 8, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Karen, great to meet you. My brother used to live in lovely and fruitful Marin County. I would always marvel at what could be grown there. So glad I have a new baking, canning, jamming, pickling friend. Nola’s is a fine place to eat over on Bainbridge Island in the town of Winslow. Wish they were on our island.
147 Market Notes: Peach Clafouti Tart « Seacoast Locavore // Oct 27, 2011 at 3:38 pm
[...] markets, farmstands, and pick-your-ownfarms. My kitchen is full of them in varying stages of ripeness, waiting to be savored plain as an exquisite treat on its own, or turned into a luscious [...]
148 Robert // Nov 3, 2011 at 7:23 am
Hi Tom,
Thanks so much for the good ripening advice. I bought some D’Anjou pears about three weeks ago. I left them out in my kitchen to ripen (this was all before I read your post on how to ripen). After three weeks, they are still not ready yet. This seems very strange. Was the fruit picked too early? Are there chemcals or irradiation being used that would prohibit ripening and extend shelf life? Is there any way to tell the difference between pears that will take weeks to ripen and pears that will ripen in a week or less?
149 Tom // Nov 3, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Hi Robert,
Winter Pears are amazing keepers and also on their own time schedule. I picked up some D’Anjou pears recently and it took three weeks for them to ripen. Winter pears like D’Anjou only ripen off the tree, but I’ve never found a way to rush them into ripeness without finding a mealy, mushy end result.
Bosc pears ripen quicker I’d say, as do Comice. And Seckel sugar pears do too, but are harder to find. There is a new pear hitting the markets from Europe, called Concorde and its delicious and ripens quickly. Bartlett is a summer pear and ripens the quickest. Hope this helps.
150 Bev // Nov 14, 2011 at 8:56 am
I bought some nectarines (I live in South Africa, so it’s summer here) and they are rock hard. A Google search led me to your page. Thanks. Judging from the comments, I’m in for some lovely juicy fruit in a couple of days. I’ll definitely give your site further visits, and have already bookmarked it.
151 Tom // Nov 14, 2011 at 9:00 am
Thanks Bev, good luck it may take up to week to ripen the nectarines, I’ve found.
152 Bev // Nov 18, 2011 at 8:59 am
Hi. Just thought I would let you know that I just had one of those “rock-hard” nectarines! It was wonderful and juicy. I should have eaten it in the shower, it was so good. Thanks Tom.
153 Tom // Nov 18, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Ah Bev — that is awesome — glad it worked for you so well, cheers!
154 Blogs & Info | Pearltrees // Jan 26, 2012 at 11:43 pm
[...] The Best Way to Ripen Peaches Step 5: They are ripe when they smell like a peach and the stem side is pressed down a bit from the weight and softening of the peach as it ripens. [...]
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