All guides
How to pick nectarines
3 min read
A peach without the fuzz, and less forgiving because there is no fuzz to hide the damage.
29
farms
10
regions
May to September
picked
When you can pick nectarines
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Across every region on Pickeria. Darker months are peak somewhere; your own region is narrower, and the table below gives it.
What to look for
- 1
The same rule as peaches: read the background colour, ignore the red
- 2
Ripe fruit smells like nectarine at the stem end. If it smells of nothing, it is not ready
- 3
The skin marks at the slightest knock, so handle each one individually into the container
- 4
A gentle press at the shoulder, never the sides, should give slightly
- 5
Wrinkling around the stem means it is past its best rather than perfectly ripe
What people get wrong
Every one of these is common enough to be worth naming.
- Treating them like peaches when it comes to handling. There is no fuzz to cushion a knock and every mark shows
- Pressing the sides rather than the shoulder, which leaves two thumbprints that go brown by evening
- Reading the red as ripeness, exactly as with peaches
- Mistaking wrinkling at the stem for perfect ripeness when it means the fruit is going over
Varieties worth knowing
Farms post the variety at the gate. This is what the names mean.
Yellow-fleshed
The standard. Higher acid, more of the flavour people expect, and better for cooking.
White-fleshed
Sweeter tasting and more floral, and the ones most likely to convert someone who thinks nectarines are boring.
Freestone versus clingstone
The same distinction as peaches and it matters just as much once you are halving forty of them.
Once you are home
Most people pick more than they planned to.
- Ripen on the counter and then refrigerate for two or three days at the outside
- No need to blanch and peel for most uses, since the skin is thin and pleasant
- They roast better than peaches, holding their shape where a peach collapses
- Slice and freeze with a squeeze of lemon to stop the browning
Where you can pick nectarines
29 farms across 10 regions, earliest season first. Every date came from the farm's own words.
San Francisco, CA8 farms
Diablo Cherries, Three Nunns Farm, Pomeroy Farm and 5 more
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
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N
D
May to August
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
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O
N
D
June to August
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
June to August
Washington, DC4 farms
Baugher's Orchards and Farms, Brossman's Farm, Pryor Orchards and 1 more
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
July to September
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
July to September
New York, NY1 farm
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
July to September
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F
M
A
M
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J
A
S
O
N
D
August to September
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
August to September
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F
M
A
M
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J
A
S
O
N
D
August to September
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F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
August to September
The one farm that publishes a price
Taken from the farm's own website, never from a directory. Most publish nothing at all, so these are worth knowing.
