Peaches
Always handle your peaches gently as they tend to bruise easily.
A peach that is ripe, but firm when picked, will usually keep for at least a week if stored properly.
If you plan to store them for more than a few days we recommend that you spread them out in a single layer, as soft ripe peaches can bruise simply from the weight of a peach stacked on top of them. We enjoy keeping a fruit bowl stocked in plain sight with “ripe and ready’s” for inevitable snacking moments.
Proper storage temperature is essential:
Store the peaches at room temperature, preferably in a cooler room.
Or
If you want to refrigerate them, ensure that your refrigerator is set to the proper temperature. Peaches that are refrigerated at the wrong temperature range are likely to turn mealy. The improper temperature range is between 38-45 degrees Fahrenheit. Good temperatures are either just below or just above this range is.
Testing for ripeness (softness):
Peaches soften from the bottom up. The last part of the peach to soften is the top rim around the stem. To test if the peach is fully softened, gently press the rim around the stem. If the flesh is firm, the peach will still be crunchy. If the flesh depresses and does not bounce back the peach is fully soft.
White Peaches vs. Yellow Peaches
White fleshed peaches are low in acid, allowing for their natural sweetness to be more pronounced. The golden flesh of the yellow peach is more acidic, with a tartness that mellows as the peach ripens and softens.
White peaches are more delicate and easily bruised, which kept them from being sold in most stores until the 1980s, when hardier varieties were developed. Older varieties of white peaches have a bit of tang to balance the sugar, but the newer varieties are more uniformly sweet. We grow four varieties of white peaches in our orchard, of which two are old and two are new.
As for cooking, the two types are interchangeable according to your preference. The delicate, floral sweetness of white peaches is excellent for eating out of hand, smoothies, grilling and they make incredible jam. The more intense flavor of yellow peaches makes for more versatile peach to be used in many of those familiar recipes (both sweet and savory) that you’ve already come to love. Yellow peaches are also more durable, so hold their texture better when processed.
Cherries
Cherries will keep for a week or more if kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
Apricots
If you plan to eat your apricots right away it is fine to leave them out at room temperature. In our home they seem to magically disappear if we leave them out in plain sight.
If you would like them to keep longer, it is fine to store them in the refrigerator in an open container. They do need to breath, so will not do as well in a tightly enclosed container.