[0 - 2] - Peaches are native to China where they were domesticated
[2 - 6] by some estimates as early as 6000 BC.
[6 - 8] That's incredible, because it's 2023
[8 - 10] and we still haven't really figured out
[10 - 11] how to domesticate raccoons.
[11 - 13] Sure, you see one here or there on the internet,
[13 - 15] but it's not like a raccoon in every house
[15 - 16] the way it should be.
[19 - 21] Anyway, it's long enough ago for the Chinese
[21 - 24] to have learned a vast amount of information about peaches
[24 - 27] and to catalog many hundreds of cultivars.
[27 - 29] Peaches are mentioned in ancient Chinese writings
[29 - 32] and they're still growing strong with peach love today.
[32 - 36] Producing over 16 million metric tons last year.
[36 - 38] While we don't grow nearly that many peaches here in the US,
[38 - 39] we do all right.
[39 - 41] The top state producers are California,
[41 - 43] South Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey.
[43 - 46] My favorite way to eat a peach is out of hand
[46 - 48] standing over the kitchen sink.
[48 - 51] If I bought that peach at a roadside stand in South Carolina
[51 - 54] along with a bag boiled peanuts, I'm a very happy Dan.
[54 - 57] Because you see, the peach is my favorite fruit.
[57 - 59] I love the aroma and flavor of the peach,
[59 - 61] both delicate and distinct.
[61 - 63] I love checking the peaches on my counter daily
[63 - 65] during the summer and choosing the perfect one to eat
[65 - 66] right then and there.
[66 - 69] And the texture, man, the texture.
[69 - 70] I don't think we have a good word for it in English,
[71 - 74] That combination of gentle structure that quietly crunches
[74 - 77] and releases juices, it's just unbeatable.
[77 - 79] There are a few different ways to categorize peaches
[79 - 81] and one is based on their pit.
[81 - 82] We have clingstone and freestone.
[82 - 85] In clingstone peaches the flesh holds tightly
[85 - 86] to the peach pit,
[86 - 89] where in freestone peaches it gives up the pit easily.
[89 - 91] Freestone peaches are ideal when you're doing anything
[91 - 92] other than eating out of hand
[92 - 94] because they're much easier to prep.
[94 - 96] Another way to categorize them
[96 - 99] is by whether they are melting flesh or non-melting flesh.
[99 - 101] I swear I'm not making this up.
[101 - 103] Melting flesh peaches.
[103 - 105] Sounds like an actual horror movie.
[105 - 107] But what it basically means is that melting fleshers
[107 - 109] soften more dramatically during ripening.
[109 - 112] That generally means they need to be picked earlier
[112 - 114] in their ripening process in order to survive shipping.
[114 - 117] You can also look at them based on flesh color.
[117 - 119] White flesh cultivars are most popular in China,
[119 - 121] whereas in the US we tend to grow more
[121 - 122] yellow flesh varieties.
[122 - 124] Red flesh varieties also exist
[124 - 127] but are more of a niche market, at least locally.
[127 - 129] Is there a big difference between white and yellow?
[129 - 131] We did a taste test at Cooks Illustrated
[131 - 133] of what's available stateside and found that white varieties
[133 - 136] across the board were much lower in acidity
[136 - 138] and they also tended to soften a lot more
[138 - 140] during cooking and baking applications.
[140 - 142] So, they're ideal for eating out of hand
[142 - 143] if you want less acid
[143 - 146] and more pure sweetness, but intrinsically flesh color
[146 - 149] and acid level are independent variables.
[149 - 151] Now, I grew up with high acid, yellow flesh peaches
[151 - 153] and I love that balance of sweet and tart.
[153 - 155] Now, if you're more of a nectarine person
[155 - 157] than a peach person and you really wish
[157 - 159] that this was a nectarine video instead,
[159 - 161] rest assured that this is a nectarine video.
[161 - 164] Both are peaches, nectarines lack that fuzzy skin
[164 - 166] and show differences in size, flavor,
[166 - 167] and sugar and acid content.
[167 - 170] Okay, so before we get into how to prep and cook peaches
[170 - 172] I want to talk about eating peaches out of hand
[172 - 173] because at the end of the day
[173 - 175] this is my favorite way to enjoy them
[175 - 177] but it takes some real technique.
[177 - 180] The perfect peach is so juicy that you need to perfect
[180 - 183] a bite slurp maneuver in order to eat it.
[183 - 185] I'll explain by using my own body for science.
[185 - 188] The bite slash slurp or burp,
[188 - 191] hmm, the blurp, as we call it,
[191 - 193] is performed by pulling in while biting
[193 - 195] to ensure every drop of juice is captured.
[195 - 198] Blurping ain't easy, hence the blurp stance.
[198 - 199] Aka the blance.
[199 - 202] If you eat standing straight up, you'll get juiced.
[202 - 204] For the blance you lean the upper body forward
[204 - 206] while keeping your lower body planted.
[206 - 209] Now, if we freeze frame on me blurping in my blance
[209 - 211] we can look at the potential angle of juice drip
[211 - 214] also known as the pangle of jupe or POJ for short.
[214 - 216] As you can see, the POJ here shows
[216 - 219] that any juice that escapes my blurp will land well ahead
[219 - 221] of my brand new sneakers, and yes
[221 - 225] they do make me go very fast and jump very high. Got that?
[225 - 226] Alright, let's head to the kitchen.
[226 - 228] There are a lot of interesting methods
[228 - 229] floating around on the worldwide web
[229 - 231] for how to get the pit out of the peach.
[231 - 233] Let's take a look at all of them.
[233 - 236] First, we'll slice from stem to tip and open up the peach.
[236 - 237] From here, I can use a pairing knife
[237 - 239] to scrape around the pit and remove it.
[239 - 240] Not too bad, and that's how I've done it
[240 - 241] for most of my life.
[241 - 244] It's also the best bet when working with clingstones.
[244 - 247] But now let's slice the peach along the equator.
[247 - 249] We'll take the top off and we see this nice piece of the pit
[249 - 250] sticking out of the fruit.
[250 - 253] Now I can just use my fingers to wiggle it back and forth
[253 - 254] and pop it out.
[254 - 256] I find this easier than the previous method.
[256 - 258] It's my go-to for freestones
[258 - 260] But you've probably also seen people using pliers
[260 - 261] to rip the pit out
[261 - 263] and we tested it and it does work.
[263 - 265] Just make sure you use clean pliers like this.
[265 - 267] Insert, grab and pull.
[267 - 269] Again, you'll ideally have freestones for this.
[269 - 272] Sometimes recipes will tell you to peel peaches.
[272 - 273] An easy way to do that
[273 - 275] if you have a lot of peaches is a quick dunk
[275 - 278] in boiling water and then into an ice bath.
[278 - 280] If you make a little X on the tip of the peach
[280 - 282] before you do, you'll have a nice little handle
[282 - 284] to pull off the flesh
[284 - 285] but sometimes I like to peel the peach
[285 - 287] even if I'm eating it out of hand
[287 - 290] and the reason is there's no obscuring the beautiful flesh
[290 - 291] with the texture of the skin.
[291 - 293] And with some peaches you can peel the skin off
[293 - 296] just like you would a sticker on a new TV.
[296 - 297] Finally, if you're working with firmer peaches
[297 - 299] for a specific recipe,
[299 - 301] you can actually peel them with a vegetable peeler.
[301 - 303] Okay, we are prepped. Let's cook.
[303 - 306] Peaches can go sweet or savory, and during high season
[306 - 308] I think you just have to do both.
[308 - 310] One miracle of nature is that peach season
[310 - 312] and tomato season line right up
[312 - 314] and they pair it so well together,
[314 - 317] particularly in this grilled peach tomato and burrata salad.
[317 - 318] For this recipe
[318 - 321] I am using beautiful high acid yellow flesh peaches.
[321 - 322] They will hold up better during grilling
[322 - 324] and that acidity adds brightness to the salad.
[324 - 326] They're halved and pitted.
[326 - 328] Then they get brushed with a little bit of melted butter
[328 - 330] and we grill them on the hot side of the grill
[330 - 332] until we get gorgeous grill marks like these,
[332 - 334] and then we transfer them to a roasting pan
[334 - 335] on the cooler side of the grill
[335 - 338] to cook through and become sweet and tender.
[338 - 339] Once they're cool enough to handle
[339 - 342] we can slip the skins right off with our hands.
[342 - 343] How cool is that?
[343 - 345] Then we cut the peaches into bite-size pieces
[345 - 346] and add them to a simple vinaigrette
[346 - 348] along with ripe tomatoes that we salted
[348 - 351] for about 30 minutes to remove excess liquid.
[351 - 353] Now we just plate it up and top with burrata
[353 - 354] and chopped basil.
[354 - 356] Well, this is definitely a looker.
[356 - 359] The most satisfying part is breaking into the burrata
[359 - 362] and letting it mingle with the juicy peaches and tomatoes.
[362 - 363] Let's try a bite.
[364 - 365] Mhmm, mhmm mhmm mhmm.
[365 - 367] This is a pure taste of summer.
[367 - 370] It's got tomatoes, grilled flavor, creamy cheese,
[370 - 373] fresh basil, and the real star of the whole show,
[373 - 374] sweet, sweet peaches.
[374 - 376] This has like seven ingredients
[376 - 378] and tastes like an entire season.
[378 - 380] You have to make it.
[380 - 381] There's a link to it right below this video.
[381 - 383] Now I've got one more recipe for you
[383 - 384] and it puts peaches front and center
[384 - 386] in an absurdly good dessert.
[386 - 388] This is Cook's Illustrated Deputy Food Editor
[388 - 391] Andrea Geary's recipe for Peach Tarte Tatin.
[391 - 394] Now I hear the purists saying, tarte tatin is usually made
[394 - 396] with apples and the vibe is all fall.
[396 - 399] Well, the peach sub changes its whole character
[399 - 401] and you wanna make it all summer long.
[401 - 402] We'll start by smearing butter
[402 - 405] over the bottom of a 10 inch oven safe skillet
[405 - 407] and then we're gonna add half a cup of sugar
[407 - 409] and shake it to distribute it in an even layer.
[409 - 410] We add a pinch of salt
[410 - 412] and arrange our peaches nicely on top.
[412 - 415] We pop the skillet over high heat and cook without stirring
[415 - 418] until the juices and sugar start to brown and smell great.
[418 - 420] This step draws out and concentrates peach juices
[420 - 423] and starts the process of martyrization.
[423 - 424] With a protein in the butter,
[424 - 426] and the sugar will react under heat
[426 - 428] to create rich flavor and aroma.
[428 - 430] We top with a circle of all butter pie dough,
[430 - 432] brush the dough lightly with water
[432 - 434] and then sprinkle with two tablespoons of sugar.
[434 - 436] Then we bake until the crust is very well browned,
[436 - 438] which takes about 30 minutes.
[438 - 440] Wow, just look at this beauty.
[440 - 441] We'll transfer the skillet to a wire rack
[441 - 443] set in a rimmed baking sheet
[443 - 444] and let it cool for about 20 minutes.
[444 - 446] Now, if this were an apple tarte tatin
[446 - 449] we would simply flip this over and serve, but with peaches
[449 - 452] we still have a lot of liquid left in the skillet. Why?
[452 - 453] Check out this experiment.
[453 - 455] I microwave a peach and an apple separately
[455 - 457] in measuring cups for the same amount of time.
[457 - 459] Look at the difference in liquid in each.
[459 - 461] Now, this would suggest that peaches contain
[461 - 463] a lot more liquid than apples
[463 - 464] but that's actually not true.
[464 - 466] Peaches do contain a bit more water
[466 - 471] but 88% versus 84% in apples, but that's not why the peaches
[471 - 473] shed so much more juice during cooking.
[473 - 475] It's because peaches have very little pectin
[475 - 477] while apples have it in abundance.
[477 - 479] When apples are cooked, they release water
[479 - 480] but the pectin in their cell walls
[480 - 483] absorbs most of it instead of allowing it to leak out.
[483 - 485] Because peaches have far less pectin
[485 - 487] they release a ton of it right into the skillet.
[487 - 488] But fear not,
[488 - 490] we've got a way to capture and concentrate
[490 - 492] that super flavorful juice.
[492 - 493] We just drain it off
[493 - 496] and then reduce it down with a little bourbon. Wow!
[496 - 497] This smells, wow!
[498 - 500] Finally, we brush this incredible elixir
[500 - 501] over our gorgeous tart.
[501 - 502] Well, would you look at that?
[502 - 504] I've made myself a complete meal.
[504 - 505] I'm gonna start with a few bites
[505 - 508] of this gorgeous tomato, peach and burrata salad.
[508 - 509] The acidity from the tomatoes
[509 - 514] and the sweetness from the peaches with that creamy burrata. Unbelievable.
[514 - 515] Okay, and now it's time for dessert.
[515 - 517] Now, no shade to apples.
[517 - 518] I love you apples
[518 - 520] but this is the best tarte tatin I've ever had.
[520 - 522] The peaches are gorgeously brown
[522 - 524] and the reduced juices are sticky
[524 - 525] and rich with peach flavor.
[525 - 528] It's a dream, so whether you're blurping in a blance
[528 - 531] over the sink or tucking into the salad or tarte tatin,
[531 - 535] this is undeniably how to eat peaches.
[538 - 540] I'm moving to the country.
[540 - 542] Gonna eat a lot of peaches.
[542 - 545] Hey, hey everyone.
[545 - 547] Thank you all so much for watching.
[547 - 552] You've gotta grab both of these recipes at the link below. It's cooksillustrated.com/whatseatingdan.
[552 - 553] You can actually get all the recipes
[553 - 555] from all six seasons of the show there.
[555 - 557] These recipes, they're gonna change your summer.
[557 - 559] I would really like to know who else ranks peaches
[559 - 563] as their favorite fruit, and if not, what beats it?
[563 - 564] Let me know in the comments.
[564 - 564] While you're down there
[564 - 566] don't forget to hit like, subscribe,
[566 - 567] and that little bell icon,
[567 - 570] and that guarantees that I'll see you next time.