What to Do With Extra Ripe Peaches

Soup

• Soup is not a hot dish poured from a red and white can. Serve a chilled peach soup as an appetizer or dessert for a refreshing twist on more traditional soups. Pureeing peaches into a soup requires a lot of fruit, and it can help you to clean out your refrigerator of overly ripened, but not moldy, peaches. One recipe uses 6 to 10 peaches pureed with a whole seeded cantaloupe and half-and-half to make the soup. Peaches and other stone fruit benefit from the addition of almond extract or amaretto to bring out the flavor of the fruit in the dish. Almond flavoring enhances the peachiness because the two plants are related.

Jam

• Adopt an old custom for putting up fruits for later use, and make your own peach jam. Jam recipes are made in bulk, and the finished condiment, if canned properly, will last for several months at room temperature. The jam only requires peaches, sugar, pectin and lemon juice. Look for pectin in supermarkets near the spices or specialty stores with food canning supplies. With jam recipes and canning instructions, always carefully follow the amounts and instructions in the recipe. Deviating from the recipe could result in the spoilage of the jam during storage.

Salsa

• Sweet and spicy, peach salsa is a fruity change of pace from the usual tomato-based condiment. Serve peach salsa with grilled chicken or fish or as a dip for tortilla chips. Chef Mike from Xavier University has a recipe for peach-jalapeno salsa. Combine chopped peaches, honey, peppers, garlic and red onions together. Make the salsa the day before you serve it to allow the flavors to combine.

Puree

• Peach puree stores well in the freezer and has many uses. Peel and pit the peaches, and puree them with water in a food processor with 1/8 tsp. of ascorbic acid to preserve color. You should strain the puree through cheesecloth before freezing, then pour the pureed peaches into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen peach cubes to an airtight container and freeze until ready to use. When ready, warm one or two peach puree cubes for making a topping for ice cream, pancakes or waffles. You'll need to thaw the cubes to make peach soup, or drop the frozen cubes into a blender with other fruits and yogurt for an icy smoothie.