Summer's Encore Performance: Peaches

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

It’s one bite that is the quintessential taste of summer: the chin-dripping, ripe goodness that is also my favorite fruit.

Peaches. Whether eaten fresh out-of-hand, in a crisp, cobber, pie—or even as wine—peaches and nectarines are the flavor that reflect August’s last great summer fling. And we’ve been enjoying them with wild abandon. That’s because I can rarely stop with just one. Thank goodness they’re peaches and not potato chips or French fries. As long as I stick with foods and veggies in their natural form, I don’t get into gotta-go-on-a-diet-NOW situations. Luckily peaches and nectarines, that fuzz-less cousin, are low in calories—lower than apples or pears—and contain bountiful amounts of vitamins A and C. Bonus: they also contain calcium, unlike most other fruits.

To think that such natural sun-splashed flavor is growing on a 3-year-old tree in our backyard is humbling indeed (Now if only we can get some truly edible fruit in the coming years—I’ve been dependent upon local farms up 'til now). And apparently I’m not alone in my peach-love: Peaches are one of the most popular fruits for eating out of hand, according to Rebecca Wood’s The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia.

They are used in a multitude of popular ways, from canning, drying and preserving to ingredients in sauces, chutneys and liqueurs—and it doesn’t stop there.

One of the easiest and most flavorful ways to turn peaches into an elegant end-of-the-summer dessert is braising. Never fear—braising is not a technique only for culinary aficionados. According to The New Food Lover’s Tiptionary by Sharon Tyler Herbst, “Braising is a slow, moist cooking method used for less tender cuts of meat and other foods. Typically, the food is browned, then covered airtight and slowly cooked in a small amount of liquid.”

So can you braise peaches and nectarines too?

Sure thing—and we love it. Best of all, they’re fast and easy. My technique for braising peaches creates a delicious dessert in less than 5 minutes start-to-finish. As you’ll see in the recipe below, it’s best to have the fruit peeled and sliced before beginning to cook. Then it’s just a matter of melting butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, adding the fruit, sprinkling with some brown sugar and/or spices and keeping an eye on it while it cooks for 4-5 minutes, flipping it halfway through the cooking time.

When quick-braising fruit for dessert, I think of it simply as sizzling my favorite fruit over a flame to bring out its flavor, to create a simple dessert that makes a great thing even better. In the case of quick-braising fruits, I’ve found that the ones that work best tend to hold their shape after a minute or two of heat while releasing some juices that help the natural sugars caramelize in the pan: peaches, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, mangoes. However, don’t let my list stop you—I’m sure there are more wonderful discoveries to be made with a bit of experimentation.

Once the fruit has been quick-braised, it can be eaten over ice cream or frozen yogurt (our favorite), topped with whipped cream (or cold milk or cream), or just eaten straightaway. Any which way is fine—and totally delicious.

Serves/Makes: 3

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 3 peaches, peeled and sliced