How to Pit a Peach

Fragrant, sweet and packed with vitamins, peaches are one of the most popular fruits in America. No surprise, given their impressive flexibility. There's nothing like a ripe peach eaten out of hand, and they can be canned, frozen, baked, broiled, grilled, dried and pickled. Peaches can be made into jam, cobbler, pie, wine, sorbet, dumpling, ice cream, salsa, chutney and whatever else a creative cook might come up with. These succulent summer fruits pair equally well with sweet and savory flavors. To use fresh peaches, simply pit and slice. If you would like to remove the skin from the peach, do so before slicing. You can accomplish this easily by blanching the peach briefly in boiling water and then plunging it into ice water. After a minute or two, the skin will peel right off. Alternatively, you can use your paring knife to peel the skin off. There are two ways to pit a peach successfully, and the method you should choose will be determined largely by what time of year it is. Early-season peaches (picked in June and July) tend to cling to their pits a bit more tenaciously. The best way to remove the pit from an early-season peach is to use the slice-and-dice method. The cut-and-twist method, on the other hand, works well with late-season (August) freestone peaches.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fresh ripe peach
• Sharp paring knife

Slice-and-Dice Method

1. Starting at the top of the fruit and working down, cut the peach into vertical slices.

2. Next, cut two or three horizontal rings around the circumference. Make sure you cut deep enough to reach the pit. You have now effectively diced the peach around the pit.

3. Use the tip of the paring knife to separate the peach flesh from the pit. The dice should pop right off.

4. If you prefer slices instead of diced, cut vertical slices only and press the tip of the paring knife down along the pit to separate it from the flesh.

Cut-and-Twist Method

5. If you are working with peaches picked in August (freestones), you can do the twist. Simply place the blade of the paring knife in the natural groove of the peach, press down till you reach the pit and rotate the knife and the peach simultaneously, cutting all the way around until you've made a cut that circumscribes the whole fruit.

6. Grip one half with the fingertips of each hand, just behind the cut, and twist gently but firmly. The two halves will twist apart evenly, leaving the pit behind in one half.

7. Use the tip of a paring knife to remove the pit from the peach half and then cut the peach halves into slices as desired.