Summer Fest: What To Do With Overripe Peaches

Peaches are a favorite summer fruit - but what do you do when you buy too many and end up with a fridge full of overripe peaches?

By: Priya Krishna

Peaches are one of the top reasons I love summer. There is nothing quite like biting into a ripe, juicy peach on a hot day and feeling the sweet nectar dribble down your mouth. Napkin? No, thank you.

Unfortunately, peaches are the kind of fruit that can get overripe pretty quickly. Forget them in your crisper for even a few days, and you are stuck with mushy, bruised fruit. Luckily, there are loads of healthy ways to prepare overripe peaches that still bring out all the same delicious summery, peachy flavor. Here are Healthy Eats’ top 5 uses for peaches that are past their prime.

1. Make a chutney – The peaches are already mushy, so they will cook quickly. Plus, you are cooking them with loads of other pungent flavors like shallots, mustard and cherries, so you don’t have to worry about tasting any sourness that might have developed in your peaches.

Recipe: Food Network Kitchens' Peach-Mustard Chutney

2. Freeze them and blend them into smoothie – Freeze overripe peaches and blend them into a refreshing fruit smoothie. The final product will have great peach flavor and color, and no one will be able to tell they were bruised or mushy to begin with. Freezing peaches generally is also a great way to preserve them past the summer months.

Recipe: Ellie's Peach Pie Smoothie (above)

3. Make a warm fruit salad – Simmer some overripe peaches with sugar, cherries and balsamic vinegar and top with a generous dollop of yogurt.

Recipe: Ellie's Peaches With Balsamic Cherries

4. Make a glaze to put on meat – Peaches and meat make for a sweet and salty match made in heaven. Make an easy and flavorful glaze for grilled chicken by reducing the peaches with some sugar and brushing that over your meat.

Recipe: Bobby's Grilled Chicken Breasts With Spicy Peach Glaze

5. Mix up some sangria – Grate and dice overripe peaches into a pitcher and add white wine and a few leaves of lemon verbena for a bright summer drink.

Recipe: Food Network Kitchens' Peach Sangria

A word to the wise: Don't grill overripe peaches. They will break apart and become mushy and messy when exposed to the grill.

TELL US: How do you use up overripe peaches?

Peach Recipes from our Family and Friends:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Peach Blackberry Arugula Salad

Cooking With Elise: Streusel Topped Peach Muffins With Peach Butter

Heather Christo Cooks: Peach Coconut Pancakes

Ingredients, Inc: Easy Peach Pie

From My Corner of Saratoga: Grilled Peaches With Caramel-Ginger Sauce and Pound Cake

Dishin & Dishes: Peach Lacquered Chicken Salad

Big Girls Small Kitchen: Easy Peach Limeade

Napa Farmhouse 1885: Fresh Peach and Coconut Cake