Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
WHERE THEY'RE GROWN: Almost all of the nectarines grown in the United
States come from California. Peaches are much more widely grown, with twenty-nine
states harvesting sig nificant amounts. But California still grows more than half - eight
times as many as the next-closest states, Georgia and South Carolina.
H O W T O C H O O 5 E: Check the background color. Ripe fruit will be golden,
not green. Mature fruit that hung on the tree long enough to develop the sugar will have a
distinctive orange cast. Always with peaches and nectarines, trust your nose: fruit that is
ripe and delicious will smell that way.
H O W T O S T 0 R E: If you buy fruit that is too firm, leave it at room temperature.
Only when it begins to ripen should you move it to the refrigerator. In fact, chilling under-
ripe fruit is about the worst thing you can do: it will turn the flesh mealy and dry.
HOW TO PREPARE: Nectarines don't need peeling. Peaches should be peeled be-
fore cooking; otherwise the skin will slip away into the dish on its own. To peel a peach,
cut a shallow X in its blossom end, then blanch it quickly in boiling water. Rescue it to
a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, then peel away the skin with your fingers. The
blanching time required will vary depending on the ripeness of the peach (in fact, you
can peel very ripe peaches without blanching at all). To remove the pits from peaches and
