Freeze Dried Peaches

Description

Freeze dried peaches are on the list of fruits that can be better freeze dried than fresh. Part of that comes from ripeness. If you buy peaches at random in the store, they’re likely to be relatively insipid because they’re most likely not fully ripe. A ripe peach has a strong peachy scent, and has started to get a little soft. That softness is why store-bought peaches are so often underripe. The store doesn’t want them to be soft; the store wants them to be nice and hard so they don’t bruise, and so they can sit in the bin for a long time without starting to go bad. But if the store sells truly ripe peaches, they have to sell them really fast, because peaches start to go bad not long after they reach full ripeness.

That’s where freeze drying can save the day. We can buy fully ripe peaches from local growers who pick them ripe, or we can buy grocery store peaches and wait until they ripen on their own. Then we can freeze dry them at the moment of peak ripeness and seal in all of that wonderful ripe flavor to be enjoyed as long as they’re kept dry.

The other way that freeze dried peaches are better than fresh is the lovely light dry texture. I will admit that biting into a ripe, juicy, fresh peach is a wonderful thing. But the juiciness limits how and when you can enjoy it. Completely aside from having to eat the fresh peach while it’s at peak ripeness, you also have to be prepared for a relatively moist experience. You need a bib, or a plate, or some way to control all the juice. You can’t just snack on a peach as easily as you can, say, an apple. But if the peach is freeze dried — problem solved!