Have you wondered whether or not peaches should go in the fridge at all? We got the answer for you along with tips on how to store unripe peaches,
📋 What's New In This Post (7/22/25) - Added new tips for storing peaches.
Grocery Stores Drive Me Crazy Sometimes!
As someone who has worked in a grocery store produce department and written about produce for over 15 years one thing that drives me nuts is when I go to a store and see produce being stored in properly. This is especially true when I see peaches in a cooler. No!!!!!!
Not only could that space be used for something else, it's actually hurting the peaches themselves, resulting in customer dissatisfaction. When someone has a bad experience with a piece of produce they question the next time whether to buy it again ro not.
Does that mean peaches should never go in the fridge? Not at all — they should only be refrigerated once they’re fully ripe and you’re not planning to eat them right away. Proper storage is key to getting the best flavor and texture from your peaches.
I want to help you store your peaches so they reach their fullest potential. While some factors—like when and how they were picked—are beyond our control, how you store them at home can make a big difference. Let’s focus on what we can control to enjoy peaches at their best.
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How Peaches Get to the Store
Never ever put a peach that is not ripe in the fridge. There are a couple reasons:
- It will slow down the ripening process to the point of it basically stopping.
- Peaches that are stored for a long time in the cold develop flavors that are off putting.
One problem is that grocery store peaches often spend too much time being kept cold. Why do I say that? I have worked in a grocery store before and understand the process of how peaches get from the farm to the store. It goes something like this:
The peaches are picked, hard enough that they won't go bad and get brusied. Sometimes this can be too early and the peaches hasn't matured enough yet.
- Then they are stored in the cold until they go onto a truck to a distributor center. Usually the truck is refrigerated.
- They wait at the distribution center until they head off to a store while on a refrigerated truck.
- They then go to the cooler at the store until ready to be placed on display.
Boxes of peaches that come into a grocery store list the day they were packed. Sometimes it can be 2-3 weeks afterward and I can bet most of that time was spend under refrigeration.
Peaches that are picked by farmers and sold directly to the public don't go through all that extra chilling, which is why they often ripen better, are sweeter, and have better flavor.
How to Store Peaches That are Hard
Once the peaches have reached our hands, how do you store them? The best way to store peaches is to keep them at room temperature, especially when they are not ripe yet. The same is true for nectarines. You can keep them out on the counter but I like to keep them in a dark place. I have drawers in my kitchen shelving dedicated to fruit.
Whatever you do, keep them out of direct sunlight. Especially on a hot summer day those spots can be too hot for the fruit.
How long will it take for them to ripen? If the peaches feel really hard or have any green on them I would say you have a 5-7 days. If the color looks right and they are still a bit hard, you probably have 1-2 days.
💡 Tip on Bags - Always remove peaches from the plastic bag you may have brought them from the store in. Plastic bag will hold moisture against the fruit causing it to get moldy or rot. A brown paper bag is perfectly ok, in fact they will help the fruit ripen faster as it traps in the fruit's natural ethylene gas that will speed up ripening. If you shop at a store that uses paper bags make sure you save them for this purpose.
When the Peaches are Ripe
Once peaches become ripe, you can leave them out at room temperature for another 1–2 days. Just keep an eye on them. If you haven’t eaten them within a couple of days after ripening, that’s the time to put them in the fridge. Peaches can often last up to a week in the fridge before they start to wrinkle, although their flavor may not be as good.
When you store them in the fridge, put them directly into a drawer. You don't want excess moisture to be near the fruit. If I didn't want you to put them in a plastic bag before, I for sure don't want you to do that now.
Putting them into a silicone bag is a different story. Silicone doesn't sweat like plastic does. What I mean is condensation forming. Since silicone is thicker and more insulating you don't get the kind of condensation. Let me show you an example of me storing peaches in this kind of bag.
I fit 8 peaches into a Stasher Stand-Up Bag Mega bag. If the peaches are soft they could get bruised by stacking them, so maybe only but a few in. In this case I was saving these peaches to may jam, so I wasn't really worried about that.
💡 Tips - Always bring a ripe peach to room temperature before eating. The cold of the fridge tends to mute the best flavor of the fruit. And never wash a peach until you are going to use it. You don't want to overhandle the fruit or put the fruit away wet.
How to Salvage Overripe or Mealy Peaches
You can do everything right and still end up with peaches that are mealy, overripe or just didn't ripen the way you want to enjoy them out of hand. Don't worry they can still be salvaged for recipes.
Applesauce is the first thing to come mind. You won't notice the peaches are mealy in a peach flavored applesauce or you can make my Easy Frozen Peach Granita - which is simple frozen dessert made with just peaches, sugar, water, and a fork! And don't be shy about making jam either!
FIY - Don't make a peach cobbler or a peach pie with unripe peaches. The fruit may still get soft when cooked but the pie won't have any peach flavor.
What is the biggest issue you have had when it comes to buying or storing peaches? Let me know in the comments section below.
Jackie
One more use for mealy peaches- peach curd. I served it with the rolls and butter on Thanksgiving- it was such a hit brought out more at Christmas. also served it a couple times with brie cheese and crackers.
Eric Samuelson
Peach curd sounds like a lovely idea.