The Best Way to Cut a Peach, Plus How to Use Fresh Peaches

I’m lucky enough to live in a place where local produce is plentiful during the summer months. While it’s all delicious, the one thing I really can’t get enough of are the peaches. In New England, they arrive slightly later in the season, so I spend the first half of the summer loading up on fruits and veggies that arrive earlier and circling my favorite peach stand trying to get insider info on when the first haul will arrive. Once they do, you’ll find me loading up on them and getting ready to add them to a dessert like a peach cobbler, a sweet and savory salad like this stone fruit panzanella, or simply enjoying them on their own.

No matter how you like to enjoy your fruit, though, you’ll definitely need to know how to pick out a perfect peach and, of course, the best way to cut your peaches.

Place a peach on a stabilized cutting board and lay it on its side. (See the best trick for stabilizing a cutting board.)

Use a small sharp knife, such as a paring knife, to cut into the side of the peach until you hit the pit. Slice around the center of the peach, rotating it around the pit.

Gently twist apart the halves with both hands to separate them.

Use your fingers to remove the pit.

If the pit doesn’t come out easily, carefully slide the tip of your knife beneath one end of the pit to coax out, then remove the pit with your fingers.

Lay one half of the peach cut-side down or your cutting board and slice it into wedges. Repeat with the other half.

If you’d like, you can chop the wedges into small pieces.

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