Perhaps more than any other fruit, the peach, extraordinarily rich in aromatic essences, has suffered a loss of flavour due to the forcing techniques of modern agriculture. By searching markets and stalls, however, it is still possible to find delicious, wonderfully fragrant peaches.

Peach varieties and properties

With either yellow or white flesh, peaches are called freestone if the flesh comes away from the stone easily, and clingstone if it does not. Nectarines have smooth, shiny, hairless skin; velvety peaches have skin that, as the name suggests, resembles velvet. In peaches, external colour is not an indicator of ripeness — firmness matters more: when buying, it is best to choose ones that are firm but not hard, with no soft spots. Unripe peaches will ripen in two to three days at room temperature, while ripe ones must be kept in the fridge.

Fat-free and low in sugars, the peach is a good source of vitamin A, minerals and fibre. Its consumption is recommended for those suffering from liver complaints and to combat constipation.

News and tips

An authoritative study on the antioxidant power of peaches found that those grown using organic techniques "show both a higher free phenolic acid content and greater antioxidant capacity compared with those from conventional farming, and do not undergo significant changes in either of these two indices during storage".

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