How do you know when a stone fruit is ripe?

Earmata Inc. is one of the leading produce distributors in Massachusetts that sources fresh produce globally. Our fruit department’s diverse sources of produce allow us to provide quality varieties of fruit for our customers year-round, including delicious stone fruits. There is an exciting variety within the stone fruit family, and a few might surprise you. Continue reading below to find out everything you need to know about stone fruits. 

Peaches, cherries, apricots, and nectarines: what do all of these delicious fruits have in common? They’re stone fruits. Stone fruits are a family of fruits that get their name from the pit or “stone” in their center that is actually a large seed. There is a wide variety of stone fruits available, but some of the most popular fruits available through our produce distributors in Massachusetts include:

• Peaches.
• Plums.
• Nectarines.
• Mangoes.
• Cherries.
• Apricots.
• Olives.
• Lychees.

When Are Stone Fruits Ripe?

Stone fruits tend to be fleshy and have thin skins that can be smooth or fuzzy. Every stone fruit is different, but you will know when they are ripe when their flesh becomes slightly softened, and they no longer have green skin. Nectarines and peaches can take up to four days to ripen if you buy them while their flesh is still firm. You can tell when they’re ready for eating when there is some give when you gently squeeze the fruit. Cherries don’t ripen anymore after they are harvested, so you can enjoy them right away! 

Are Stone Fruits Healthy?

Stone fruits are a healthy and delicious snack that packs a potent nutritional punch. These vibrant fruits are rich in dietary fiber, potassium, antioxidants, and vitamins. You can enjoy stone fruits on their own or add them to your salads, smoothies, or desserts! 

Contact Our Produce Distributors in Massachusetts

Be sure to check out the delicious stone fruits available from our produce distributors in Massachusetts at E. Armata Inc. Our fruit department is one of our flagship programs, and we have fostered loyal relationships with our customers, growers, and shippers for generations. To learn more about our stone fruit offerings or for general inquiries, be sure to contact E. Armata Inc. today!

Published on: June 3, 2015

­Selecting and Storing Stone Fruit

Select unbruised peaches or nectarines with nice color, full shape, and heavy for their size. Look for the ground color of the fruit, not just the blush. For white peaches or nectarines the ground color should be creamy, not greenish. For yellow varieties, it should be golden, not pale or greenish.

Select by aroma if you intend to eat the peach in a day or so. Do not squeeze fruit, it will damage it. Be careful not to bruise the fruit on your way home. Bruised tissue begins to decompose rapidly, and brown rot or other decay may occur unless it is consumed immediately.

Fully ripe peaches or nectarines should be used immediately. If that is not possible, ripe fruit may be refrigerated. To reduce water loss in the refrigerator, use a plastic bag or place in the fruit bin.

Ripening Stone Fruit

Cover a shallow tray or cookie sheet with a linen napkin or cotton dish towel (not terry cloth, it holds too much moisture). Place each peach/nectarine stem side down on the tray so that they are not touching. Cover with another dish towel and place in a cool place, out of the sun. Most fruit should ripen at room temperature (65° to 75°F) in one to four days.

You may also ripen peaches and nectarines in a fruit bowl with other fruit or in a paper bag, with the top loosely folded. However, separating each piece of fruit reduces the potential for decay and bruising.

The aroma will tell you when the fruit is ripe – a peach should smell like a peach! The stem side will be flattened slightly from softening and the weight of the fruit. Enjoy!

Stone fruit season is one of the sweetest parts of summer. Knowing a thing or two about what to expect means more fun and less waste. Here are your top questions about stone fruit, answered! 

When is stone fruit in season? 

In the U.S., stone fruit season starts in late May and runs until October. Peaches generally start first in May, followed by apricots and nectarines and then plums in June and July. 

Where is stone fruit grown? 

• The lion’s share of US peaches are grown in California. South Carolina and Georgia producing a significant amount of yellow peaches for the East Coast market. 
• California grows over 95% of the country’s nectarines, apricots, and plums. 

Why are my peaches firm when they’re delivered? 

All retailers, including Imperfect, buy stone fruit while it’s still firm so it doesn’t get bruised or damaged while it travels from the farm to your door. 

How should I store it?

• Like some of our favorite seasonal treats like avocados and tomatoes, the reality is that stone fruits are fragile and have a “peak eating window” that’s narrower than our schedules might like. This means storing them properly is essential.
• If you plan to eat your peaches or nectarines soon, you can leave them on your counter as they’ll ripen faster at room temperature. 
• If you bought more stone fruit than you can finish, or a lot of your fruit is already ripe and soft, keep them in your fridge, since the cold temperatures will slow down the ripening process. 

How do I know when it’s ripe? 

• The fruit will feel slightly tender to the touch and smell fragrant. If you press it with your finger, it should leave an imprint. 
• If you’ve got a stubbornly firm stonefruit or are just impatient, store it in a paper bag on the counter alongside an apple or a banana. The ethylene gas from the ripening fruit will make your stone fruit ripen faster. 

What can I cook with stone fruit? 

• Besides being great for snacking, stone fruit shines in the kitchen. We particularly love grilling peaches, since they make for a satisfying and easy dessert. 
• Different types of stone fruit shine in different recipes. Nectarines are amazing in salads alongside seasonal veggies and fresh herbs, peaches excel in baked goods like pies and donuts, and apricots make spectacular jam! 

Q: How can I tell when my stone fruit is ripe (or ready to eat)?

A: To protect stone fruit during delivery, such as peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots, we send it to you on the slightly underripe side. Stone fruit continues to ripen after picking and should be stored at room temperature away from sunlight and heat until it gives softly to the touch and has a sweet aroma. Once ripe, you can refrigerate fruit as necessary to prevent spoiling, but cold temperatures may change their texture and taste.

If you’re in a hurry to sample this season’s lush and juicy stone fruit, ripening can be hastened by placing stone fruit in a paper bag on the counter and closing the top. If you’re in an even bigger hurry, include an apple or banana in the bag with the stone fruit—the ethylene gas naturally produced by apples and bananas will accelerate ripening even more. But keep an eye on your stone fruit to make sure it doesn’t get overripe.

Enjoy and be fruitful!

Stone fruit is my favorite part of summer, after the warm weather and extended hours of daylight.

So called for the singular pit or stone at the center — which houses a seed inside — stone fruit, also known as drupes, are generally in season late May through early October in the United States. Some of the most common drupes include peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots and cherries, but olives, mangoes and pecans also fall under this category. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of varieties of many of these fruits — not to mention the various hybrids such as plumcots, apriums and pluots — that come in many shades, sizes and flavors.

Here’s what you need to know about some of the most popular types of stone fruit.

Peaches. These are what I consider the standard-bearer when it comes to stone fruit in the U. S. — there’s nothing better than biting into a ripe peach and letting the juice drip down your chin on a warm, sunny day. The fruit is generally known for its balance of tart acidity and sweetness and is either a deep golden yellow or creamy white. Yellow peaches tend to have higher acidity; white peaches are milder and often slightly sweeter, but they’re generally not recommended for cooking as they can get mushy and fall apart. There are also flat versions of the fruit called Donut or Saturn peaches. Because of their size, they are usually best for eating out of hand as they would take more effort to prepare compared to traditional round peaches. When it comes to taste, donut peaches are also typically sweeter and milder than round ones.

Nectarines. While peaches tend to get most of the hype during stone fruit season, don’t sleep on nectarines. The two stone fruits are very similar and relatively interchangeable in uses, but nectarines are often firmer, sweeter and juicier than peaches. One of the key differences between the two is that nectarines are smooth-skinned compared to the characteristic fuzz of peaches, which is a boon for anyone unsettled by eating furry fruit.

Plums. There are different types of each of the stone fruit included in this list, but plums are perhaps the most varied. Their size can range from as small as a cherry to as large as a baseball; they come in a variety of colors, including deep purple/nearly black, red, yellow and green; and they exist all along the sweet-tart spectrum. (The one I’m eating for inspiration as I write this article is definitely on the astringent end of the range.) They have smooth skin and the whitish layer sometimes found atop it is called the “bloom” and helps protect the fruit.

Apricots. The vast majority of apricots grown domestically are from California, and these yellow fruits have a velvety skin that isn’t quite smooth, but isn’t as fuzzy as that of a peach. Compared to other stone fruit, apricots tend to be firmer when ripe and won’t get as juicy. As such, apricots aren’t usually interchangeable with peaches or nectarines in recipes because of the difference in water content.

Cherries. These diminutive, often heart-shaped stone fruits come in shades of red and yellow and can be divided into two categories: sweet or tart. Sweet cherries, such as Bing and Rainier, are great eaten out of hand or can be baked into pies and clafoutis, cooked down into jam or simmered into a sauce. Perhaps the most popular variety of tart or sour cherry is Montmorency, and as the category’s name implies, you don’t really want to pop them into your mouth as a snack. They’re also known as pie cherries, because they’re still great for mixing with sugar and baking.

While I’ve heard this categorization mostly applied to peaches, it applies to other stone fruit as well. Freestone and clingstone reference how much the flesh of the fruit adheres to its pit. As I’m sure you can deduce, freestone implies a looser connection compared to clingstone, and though the pit inside freestone fruits might not just fall out when you cut it open, it will be much easier to remove than in clingstone fruits. (Most of the fruit available in grocery stores is freestone.) Aside from the pitting process, the difference between the two is that clingstone fruits are juicier and slightly sweeter, making them ideal for canning and preserving.

The skin on stone fruit should be smooth and plump — hence the peach emoji’s double-meaning on social media — and they should feel hefty for their size. Wrinkled skin signifies older fruit that should be consumed immediately. For cherries, it’s best to buy fruit with the stems still attached as they will keep longer.

You can tell if most stone fruit is ripe if there is a little give when you press gently near the stem. (No, this does not give you clearance to start squeezing all of the fruit on sale at the grocery store or farmers market. It’s nice to buy fruits at different stages so you can enjoy them for an extended period of time instead of all at once.) For peaches in particular, the nose knows — they will have that unmistakable floral, sweet scent the fruit is known for when ready to consume. Sweet cherries will be firm when ripe, whereas sour cherries will be slightly soft.

Cherries should always be stored unwashed in a breathable produce bag in the refrigerator. Other stone fruits should be kept, also unwashed, either in a paper bag or in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with a kitchen towel with another towel on top at room temperature until ripe. If going with the paper bag method, you can throw in another ethylene producing fruit, such as an apple, to help speed up the ripening process. (It’s important to note that ripening will only improve the softness and juiciness of the fruit, and won’t actually make them sweeter.) Once ripe, store the fruit in the crisper drawer of your fridge, preferably in a breathable produce bag if available.

Lastly, you can peel stone fruit if you want before cooking and baking, but it’s not necessary. If you find the skins difficult to remove, drop the fruit in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, plunge in an ice bath and then they should be more easy to disrobe.

Whether raw or cooked, peeled or not, stone fruit are the cherry on top of a wonderful summer produce season.