Peaches are one of Mother Nature’s gifts to mankind in summertime. These yellowish-red velvety-skinned fruits are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat. However, some people find themselves at a loss when it comes to removing the pit while prepping the fruit for baking, grilling, adding to a beverage, or straight-up eating. Luckily, you’re about to learn a simple knife tip that’ll help you effortlessly pit peaches. All you need is a sharp paring knife.
Begin by cutting into the peach at the stem end. Once the knife touches the pit, don’t cut further inside, instead, turn the fruit as you continue slicing through the flesh around the pit. Next, hold the peach with both hands and twist the two halves of the peach gently but firmly as you pull them apart. You’ll now have one half that’s pit-free and the other still containing the pit. If you turn the half with the pit upside-down, the seed should fairly easily fall off. But that’s only if the peach is the freestone or semi-freestone kind i.e. the categories of peaches with flesh that is not firmly attached to the pit. If the seed doesn’t fall off then you’re likely dealing with a clingstone type of peach. Here’s what to do in that case.
How to remove a clingy peach pit
As the name suggests, a clingstone peach is a variety of peach whose seed is very tightly attached to the flesh such that it doesn’t readily fall off after cutting the fruit open. To remove this clingy stone, there are three ways you can go about it. The first method is the wiggle-and-pull technique. After cutting the fruit as we described above, simply use your fingers to tug at the seed. If this doesn’t work, proceed to the second method: The scoop technique. Using a spoon, or the tip of the knife you used to cut the peach, pry at the edges of the seed to coax it out. This will definitely remove that stubborn pit.
Alternatively, immediately you notice the pit doesn’t fall off the flesh, go straight to this third technique. Pick up the peach half containing the pit and cut it in half along its middle. Twist the now two quarters to separate them. This will expose more of the seed giving you enough room to grip it firmly with your fingers. So pinch the pit and pull and twist while holding the peach quarter. It’ll pop out with ease. With that, you can proceed to prepare one of your favorite peach recipes or eat it as is. And don’t throw out those peach pits you’ve worked so hard to dislodge, keep them and use them later to infuse flavor into vinegar, vodka, whipped cream, or even brewed tea.
