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  • Peeling peaches
A blanched peach with its fuzzy skin peeling back in a single long sheet, vivid golden-pink flesh revealed beneath.

Peeling peaches

The Strategy

Slipping the fuzzy skins off fresh summer peaches is easy as pie when you use a quick hot-and-cold bath. A brief dip in boiling water followed by a plunge into ice water coaxes the skin to loosen without cooking the sweet fruit underneath. Once you make a small cut, those skins will slide right off, leaving you with smooth, juicy peaches ready for slicing.

Technique Summary

A quick hot bath and a cold shock are all it takes to make the skins of sweet peaches slip off like magic. This gentle technique keeps the fruit firm and beautiful for your favorite summer desserts.

Chef’s Checkpoints

  • Look for the peach skin to start puckering or split slightly around the stem end in the hot water.
  • Feel the skin slide away effortlessly under your thumb after shocking the peach in ice water.
  • Check that the peach flesh remains firm and bright yellow, not mushy or cooked.
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