If you love peaches as much as I do, and always find yourself with loads of them in season, you are probably wondering one thing: how should you be storing them?
I know it might be tempting to just leave your peaches out in the hopes of using them all within a week, but unless you’re a restaurant, that just isn’t going to happen.
So, to get around all the fruit flies gathering in your house, you need to know how to properly store all those peaches!
Lucky for you, that’s exactly what we’re going to cover. Let’s get into it.
How To Properly Store Fresh Peaches
Let’s face it, peaches are fickle. One of the most fickle in all the fruit kingdom, if you ask me. Thanks to this, you need to know all the dos and don’ts of storing them.
The most important thing to consider when dealing with peaches is that they like to be alone – no piling them on top of each other, and no touchy-touchy.
Unfortunately, the window that you get to enjoy perfectly ripe, fresh peaches is already a short one. If you start piling them on top of each other, you are going to cut this time even further.
It is always best to purchase your peaches close to the time that you intend to use them – the day before or even the day of is ideal.
Storing Ripe Peaches
If you have ripe peaches, then the best bet would be to store them in the fridge to extend their life. As I mentioned above, peaches like to be on their own and not touch each other.
So, if you are storing them in the fridge, try to keep up with this and give them all some space!
Just be aware that if you keep peaches in the fridge for too long, they can start to dehydrate. This will alter the texture and make it less pleasant.
If this happens, you could always try making something like peach butter, or use them to bake with, as they would still be great!
Storing Unripe Peaches
If you have a bunch of peaches that are not yet ripe, the best thing you can do is leave them out on the counter at room temperature. Make sure you do not wash them, and leave them facing stem-down.
Ensure they are kept in a single layer rather than being on top of each other.
Do not place unripe peaches in the fridge, or else they will take ages to ripen (or not ripen at all). Wait for them to ripen before moving on to actual storage options.
I’ll go through some ways to ripen peaches quickly in a section below to help you out.
Storing Peaches Long-Term
The best way to store peaches long-term is by freezing them. However, this only works well with ripe peaches. Not mushy, ripe.
All you need to do to freeze your peaches is skin them carefully and slice them into nice wedges (or another shape if you know what you will use them for).
Place the sliced or chopped peaches on a plate, baking sheet, or something else that is flat, and freeze them.
Once the peaches are frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag.
By doing this, you will not end up with a clump of peaches frozen together, and all the slices will be separate – that’s why they should not be touching!
By doing this, you can keep your peaches for months and they will retain their wonderful flavor. While they are technically going to be safe indefinitely while frozen, their quality will deteriorate after some time.
When this happens, the texture and flavor could change for the worse, so try to use them within three months.
How To Store Chopped Peaches
Once you cut or chop your peaches, it is crucial to store them in an airtight container in the fridge. If you have larger pieces, like half a peach, you can wrap them up in some plastic wrap and refrigerate them.
Use the peaches within 3–5 days, but bear in mind that it is not guaranteed that they will last that long! It’s always better to use them quickly so that you don’t end up wasting any food. Peaches are too good to be wasted!
Can You Ripen Peaches Quickly?
There are steps you can take if you would like your unripe peaches to quickly ripen up!
The best thing you can do is keep them in a bowl together and cover it with plastic wrap. You will have ripe peaches in no time, and you can use them however you like.
Alternatively, you can keep your peaches in a paper bag and keep them in there to ripen. If you are really in a rush, place a banana in the bag, too, and those peaches will be ready in no time.
It could take as little as a day for the peaches to ripen!
Once they are ripe, you can store them in the refrigerator as I discussed in “storing ripe peaches” above.
Thawing Frozen Peaches
If you did end up freezing your peaches, you are probably going to need to thaw them at some point (unless you are making a smoothie). Luckily, this is super easy, and all you really need to do is leave them out in the fridge overnight.
That is usually plenty of time to get the job done!
However, if you find that you need to quickly thaw your peaches, there is another method you could try.
Place the frozen peaches in a sealable bag, and put them in cool water. With this method, you probably only need about an hour, and your peaches will be ready to use.
Final Thoughts
You can easily store peaches either in the refrigerator or in the freezer. It’s best to leave unripe peaches to ripen before you put them in the fridge.
If you choose to freeze your peaches, make sure to peel them first and freeze them individually before putting everything in a bag or container – no one wants a solid lump of fruit to work with!
When storing peaches, remember to limit contact with other fruit. Peaches like to be on their own! This will help them keep for longer, and you will get to enjoy them to your heart’s content.
Hello, my name is Valentina and I am the founder or ‘grower’ as I like to call myself of BonitaFruitTrees.com.
Cultivating my own fruit trees is definitely my passion, and has been for such a long time.
That’s what made me want to make this website. I wanted to create a place where I could share my experiences with others, teach more people how to grow fruit trees, and just help them have a little fun with it.
