How to Cut a Peach in Only 15 Seconds
Learn the trick on how to cut a peach into slices in only 15 seconds! Clingstone peaches and nectarines can be a pain to cut; this tutorial will help you life hack stonefruit cutting.
Right now I’m picturing Nicolas Cage saying “I could eat a peach for hours”, and then I’m picturing John Travolta AS Nicolas Cage practicing saying the same thing.
Oh, Face Off. You’re a classic.
The farmer’s market had the first peaches of the season this week! I snapped up a few juicy organic ones, came home, and quickly was disappointed to find out they were clingstone peaches.
Clingstone peaches are the drunk friend at a party kind of peach; they just don’t make life easy for you. The stone or pit of a clingstone peach won’t easily twist away from the fruit like a freestone peach will. Both kinds are super delicious, but clingstones are high maintenance.
I’ve developed a fast way to cut a peach in only 15 seconds and I really want to share it with you. Because nerdy life hacks own my heart.
Do You Need to Peel a Peach to Eat It?
Nope! The peach skin is perfectly safe to eat and helps contribute to the yummy 2.3g of fiber you’ll find in a peach.
With that in mind, please note that conventionally grown peaches and nectarines are on the this post on canning peaches list of most pesticide-laden produce. If it is in your budget, peaches and nectarines are best purchased in organic form.
How Do You Peel a Peach Easily?
It involves a quick dip in boiling water and then an instant cool down in an ice bath. This term is called blanching and you can read more about it in this post on canning peaches.
How Long Can I Store Cut Peaches in the Fridge?
Personally, I’ve found they get a little slimy after two days. Cut peaches won’t brown so there is no need to treat them with lemon juice or citric acid.
How to Cut a Peach (Clingstone)
- Wash your peach (duh). Make one circular cut through the peach, starting and ending at the stem. I use one of the workhorses in my kitchen, this post on canning peaches for this job. If that knife broke today, I’d rush order it to be delivered tomorrow.
- Just like you’re cutting a pie or pizza, make another cut through the whole peach, starting and ending at the stem. Then make, two more cuts until there are four circular cuts through the peach, rendering it to eight sections.
- Starting at the stem, take your paring knife, and cut down, around the stone/pit towards the bottom of the peach.
- In only 15 seconds, you’ll have eight beautiful peach slices ready to eat!
Want to see it in action?
Impressed? Underwhelmed? Either way, I have a peach to snack on, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be watching Face Off. And maybe to make it a doubleheader, Con Air. I had them both on VHS.
Because I’m awesome.
MORE KITCHEN HACK/TRICKS LIKE THIS
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This recipe was originally published in July 2014. It has been retested and updated with reader feedback. New photos have been added and the directions have been clarified. For reference, this is one of the photos from the original post:
1,000 points for the Face Off references.
I love this tip. I always try to pull the sections off the pit and end up mangling at least half the dang thing.
Same here! Your process makes a lot more sense.
I’m a big fan of whatever works and whatever gets peaches onto my plate faster!
I had no idea that there were two kinds of peaches like that.
And I love all three of those movies :0)
Haha, great post! That peach looks amazing. Now can you do one for apples? I need a lazy tutorial, since I hate eating apples whole, but I’m obviously too lazy to go out and buy an apple slicer.
You have just solved a major life mystery for me–I never knew there were two kinds of peaches. My mom used to always buy the freestone ones, and as an adult, I just figured I lost the touch somehow. Now I know I’ve been buying clingstone peaches the whole time. I have been smooshing every damn peach that comes my way trying to twist them apart–but no more!! Now can you tell me why I also suck at cracking eggs? What am I doing wrong??
Ha ha, or maybe your mom was just an amazing peach cutter?
Yeah, I never realized there were two types of peaches until I started canning. I was SO mad I spent all that money on peaches to can only to find out it was the wrong kind. Now we know!
I’m terrible at eggs too and I have chickens! It’s a curse.
The cutting process makes sense. But are you saying that we need to blanch the peaches before we cut them as you describe? I’m confused by your mention of blanching peaches.
Nope, not at all. It was just an aside/helpful tip because when people google how to cut a peach many are also searching for how to peel a peach. It was more of a “heads up, this is also how you do it”. If you look at the step by step directions, blanching isn’t included.