Q: Nectarines and peaches have pits that look like almonds. Are they edible, and are they the same fruit, just different types?A: Although nectarines, peaches and almonds are all part of the same family, they are each separate fruits. The inner seed of these fruits is edible, like almonds, but bitter, and since they contain cyanide, slightly toxic.
Peaches are about the size of a baseball, pinkish-orange and yellow skinned, and covered with a light fuzz (they are easily the most recognizable fruit by touch). The flesh is either orangy-yellow or white, sweet and juicy, while tasting slightly acidic and spicy. The seeds of peaches are either clingstone or freestone, meaning the flesh either breaks free easily from or remains stuck to the seed. Peaches are are excellent eaten out of hand, cooked in desserts, raw in salsas and salads, and generally substituted for anything involving nectarines, apricots and plums.
Smell the peach you want to buy. The peachy scent (spicy, sweet, floral) indicates a good peach. Peaches will soften and become more aromatic after picking, but they are highly perishable so they should be stored in the refrigerator as soon as they are ripe. Ripe peaches are soft to the touch, and develop bruises easily. Peaches are in season during the early summer through the early fall.
Nectarines look like bald peaches, which, in fact, they are. Because of a slight genetic difference (one gene) nectarines are smooth while peaches are fuzzy. However, they have been cultivated for over 2,000 years, and they have their own taste too — more tart than peaches. Like peaches, there are white and yellow fleshed varieties. Nectarines are also excellent eaten out of hand, cooked in desserts, raw in salsas and salads, and can be substituted for peaches, apricots and plums. Ripe nectarines are extremely aromatic, smelling sweet and necta-like, and should yield to slight pressure. Nectarines are available from the spring through late summer.
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