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National Eat a Peach Day

Food · August 22

A day for eating a peach, the fuzzy, juicy stone fruit of summer, whether fresh from the tree, sliced over cereal or baked into a cobbler.

National Eat a Peach Day falls on Sunday, August 22, 2027. That is 299 days away.

Eating a peach is the whole assignment. Pick one, wash it, and take a bite over the sink, because a ripe peach does not keep its juice to itself.

Peaches are stone fruits, cousins of plums, cherries and apricots, with a single hard pit in the middle. Their skin carries a soft fuzz, and their flesh runs from pale white to deep golden yellow. Some are freestone, meaning the pit pulls away cleanly. Others are clingstone, and the fruit holds on to the pit and makes you work for the last bites.

A good peach gives a little when you press it near the stem and smells sweet before you cut it. Hard ones will soften on the counter in a day or two, especially in a paper bag. Once ripe, they bruise easily, so they are best carried like eggs.

Most people eat them plain. Others slice them over yogurt or oatmeal, grill halves until the edges caramelize, or fold them into cobbler, pie or a simple salad with greens and a little cheese. Peach skin is edible, though some cooks blanch the fruit briefly in hot water so the skin slips right off.

If you buy a peach at a farm stand, ask whether it is freestone or clingstone. The answer decides whether you slice it neatly or just eat it standing up.

Ways to celebrate

• Eat a ripe peach plain, leaning over the sink.
• Look for local peaches at a farmers market or farm stand.
• Try grilling peach halves until the cut sides caramelize.
• Bake a simple peach cobbler to share with neighbors.
• Compare a white peach and a yellow peach side by side.

Dates

All national days on August 22

Also on August 22

• Take Your Cat to the Vet Day
• National Tooth Fairy Day
• National Pecan Torte Day
• Be an Angel Day

Categories: Food days