Blanching Peaches is such a great way to remove the skin. A properly blanched peach makes the fuzzy skin come off quickly and cleanly, it’s almost magical how it slides off the smooth surface of the peach. This is one of those oddly satisfying chores in the kitchen. This is a chore that I can regularly find a volunteer for amongst my children. Now we are going to teach you how to properly blanch peaches.
The first step is to bring a small pot of water to a rapid boil.
Prepare ice water in a large bowl beside the stove. The ice will melt quickly so you may have to add more as you go.
I generally blanch large amounts of peaches, so I always have some saltwater available to keep my peaches from browning. I make this in a large bowl with 1 gallon of water and 1/4 cup of salt. You could use a commercial non-darkening agent but I have found that salt is far less expensive and works well.
Now that everything is prepped it is time to do the actual blanching.
It is very important to blanch fully ripe peaches. If the peaches are not ripe the skin will not come off easily. (Besides having fully ripe peaches is the key to canning delicious peach recipes.)
How to Perfectly Blanch Peaches
Boiling water
Place 1-3 peaches in the boiling water and allow them to sit for 30-60 seconds.
Ice water
Remove them from the boiling water with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and place them in the ice water. Allow them to cool for 30-60 seconds.
peel off skin
Then, use the tips of your fingers to gently remove the skin. I like to start near the stem side. It should slide right off the delicate flesh. After the skin has been removed, place it in the saltwater. Continue this process until the saltwater bowl is full or you have done all of your peaches.
I then go back through and pit the peaches placing them back in the saltwater until I am ready to use them in my recipe.
Perfect peaches
That is all there is to it. You now have gorgeously peeled peaches just waiting to be used.
