How to Blanch Peaches

Have you ever tried to peel a peach? It can get pretty messy. Slippery, slimy, (and sometimes a bit mushy) things don't tend to behave well when placed under a knife. Fortunately, there's another way.

Blanching them.

I learned this trick when I started making peach cobbler when I was about 12. We used to have a peach tree in our backyard, and during the summers I'd climb the tree with a bucket, and pick my own peaches to use in a cobbler. It was my specialty! 

I believe my mom introduced this idea it to me, and I did a little online research for the specifics before I tried it. It seemed simple enough, and so I went for it.

I was amazed! It worked! It was the perfect way to peel peaches. 

I think it's actually kinda fun!

Blanching is basically when you submerge a fruit or vegetable into boiling water, then immediately plunge it into ice water to stop the cooking process. The boiling water loosens the skin, and makes the skin easy to just peel right off.

Here's how:

Start with a pot of boiling water, with enough water to fully cover 3-4 peaches when you place them in. Bring it to a roaring boil.

Have your peaches ready, and a large bowl of ice water ready.

Carefully put peaches into the boiling water (a couple at a time), and leave them in the water for 30 sec- 1 min. (30 seconds for the riper ones, and a little longer for the more firm peaches).

Using a slotted spoon or other utensil, carefully lift the peaches out of the boiling water one at a time, and transfer them into the bowl of ice water. 

After the peaches have been in the ice water for about 1 minute, remove them. The skin should now be loose, and you can pinch the loose skin to start to tear it. It should easily peel or rub off. (If skin does not loosen, the peaches are not ripe enough for this trick to work).

Peel the skin off of all the peaches, and they're ready to be sliced!