Spiced Peaches

When peaches are in season, spiced peaches are a must. Peaches are one of summer’s greatest glories, and this recipe for spiced peaches is just one more way to get the most out of them while they’re available.

There are several kinds of fresh peaches, depending where you live. Ordinary yellow peaches hold their shape well when they’re poached, and they just happen to be the most widely available peach. If you have access to local heirloom varieties, by all means use them if they’ll hold up to cooking.

Ingredients for Spiced Peaches

• Sugar: The sugar balances out the tang of the vinegar, and reinforces the sweetness of the peaches. It also complements the warm spices.
• Vinegar: The vinegar brings out the brighter, tart notes in the peaches’ flavor just as the sugar brings out their sweetness.
• Cloves: Whole cloves bring an assertive, almost peppery flavor.
• Cinnamon stick: The cinnamon stick brings a signature flavor to the peaches. More importantly it won’t spoil their appearance the way ground cinnamon would.
• Peaches: The peaches are the star ingredient in the dish, providing a sweet and juicy base for the other flavors.
• Sour cream: The natural tang of sour cream makes it a better topping for this dessert than whipped cream.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar is a common dessert ingredient, but here it’s simply a finishing garnish for the peaches.

Directions

Step 1: Poach

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In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, water, vinegar and spices to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes to make a thin and strongly-flavored syrup. Add the peaches and simmer until they’re heated through, about 10 minutes.

Step 2: Serve

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Pour the peaches and their poaching liquid into a shallow dish. Cover the dish and chill it for at least 8 hours, or overnight. Drain the peaches and spoon them into serving dishes. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with brown sugar.

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Spiced Peaches Variations

• Poach the peaches in wine: Instead of using a mixture of vinegar and water to poach the peaches, swap them out for an equal quantity of dry white wine and cut the sugar by half. You’ll still get a similar balance of sweet and tart flavors, but the wine will add depth and subtlety to the peaches’ flavor. You can also reduce the poaching liquid to a thick syrup, cool it and use it to glaze the peaches when you serve them.
• Swap the peaches for pears: This recipe’s technique works just as well for pears as it does peaches. Peel, halve and core the pears, and proceed as directed in the recipe. You’ll want pears that are good for cooking, like Anjou, Concorde or Bosc.
• Use the spiced peaches in a salad: Spiced peaches make a wonderful addition to salads. Slice them over any ordinary green salad, or use them in our spiced-peach salad, set with gelatin.

How to Store Spiced Peaches

Any leftover peaches can be transferred to a foodsafe storage container with a tight-fitting lid, and refrigerated for later use. Don’t add the sour cream and the sprinkle of brown sugar until you serve them.

Can I make spiced peaches ahead of time?

The overnight soak in their poaching liquid means you’ll almost always make this recipe a day ahead. You can make them an additional day ahead of time if necessary, leaving them in their poaching liquid. Their storage life is too short to go beyond a second day.

Now long will these spiced peaches keep?

Cooked fruit has a pretty short storage life. These peaches are best within 2 or 3 days at most; after that they’ll rapidly soften and lose their texture.

Spiced Peach Recipe Tips

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Can I change the spices?

Yes, of course. Clove and cinnamon is the classic combination, but other whole spices such as allspice, anise, cardamom and coriander are alternative options. They’ll each bring subtleties to the peaches that clove and cinnamon don’t.

These are great! How else can I use them?

Spiced peaches make a good topping for a range of desserts, from pound cake to pavlova, or just serve them with a scoop of ice cream. They’re also excellent on roast pork, barbecued ribs and many other savory dishes where you might otherwise use fresh or grilled peaches. We have lots of sweet and savory recipes calling for peaches, if you’re in need of inspiration.

Should the peaches be overly ripe?

Peaches at the peak of ripeness are best eaten fresh. The best peach for this recipe is still slightly firm, but well-flavored and juicy. If you have the misfortune to buy peaches that aren’t as ripe as you’d like, using them in this recipe will soften and improve them. Roasting or grilling slightly underripe peaches will also improve their flavor and texture noticeably.