Why You Should Never Store Unripe Peaches In The Fridge

There is nothing quite like biting into a perfectly ripened, chin-dripping peach. There's also nothing like biting into a peach that's hard, mealy, and unripe. One way to make mouthfuls of disappointing stone fruit a thing of the past is to stop storing unripe peaches in the fridge. Sounds like contradictory information, considering you would normally refrigerate perishable foods, but with some produce, like peaches, that's not the case. Why? Peaches are climacteric, meaning they continue to ripen after picking, as their enzymes break down pectin into juice. Due to the temperature inside the fridge, the enzymes can't work in balance, causing the fruit's water content to bind with pectin cells and resulting in a mealy inside and wrinkly outside.  

Unripe peaches should be kept on the counter at room temperature, stem-side down to prevent soft spots. Depending on how hard the peaches are, they can take anywhere from three to five days to ripen. To speed up the process, place the peaches in a paper bag. The buildup of ethylene gas released by the fruit within the bag helps them ripen faster. Check the peaches daily to ensure they don't overripen. 

How do you know when peak ripeness time has come? A sweet smell, slightly soft texture, and no green left on the skin are all sensory clues. If you don't plan to eat ripe peaches right away, this is the time to store them in the fridge. Eat them within two to three days for the tastiest results.

If you want to bake fresh peach pie without the hassle of ripening peaches at home, buying them ready-to-eat from the store seems like the simplest choice. Unfortunately, peaches at the grocery store are usually picked unripe and stored cold through their travels so they can make it to the produce stand unbruised. That's why more often than not, when you reach the display of peaches, many are still hard. If possible, your best bet is visiting a local farmer's market for produce that doesn't have to travel as far and is picked at peak ripeness. Buying local also eliminates having to think twice about buying pre-ripened fruit.

In the event that you've already taken a trip to the store, bought a few too many peaches, and they all decided to ripen at the exact same time, don't worry. There's another option that doesn't require eating peaches in excess for the next several days. You can extend ripe peaches' shelf life by cutting them up, blanching the pieces in boiling water for a few seconds, and storing them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a year. Peaches frozen this way are delicious in a fruit dessert like the best 3-ingredient peach cobbler, or cooked into a small batch of jam.