Identifying freestone fruits

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Hey all,

I'm making a grilled peach salad today and am about to go out to buy the peaches. I would like to get freestone peaches so they separate nicely and I can get good-looking slices, but I don't know how to tell without actually eating one.

Is there a way of identifying by looking (or touching) whether a stone fruit is likely to be freestone? I know that some varieties tend to be one way or the other, but I rarely find them identified in the store. Today I will ask the grocer if they know, and if not, maybe buy just one and actually taste it to see what it tastes like and if it is going to be easy to work with.

Any tips?

[Lisa Shock]

A good grocery store encourages the produce employees to cut open fruit for customers to sample. So, I say don't be shy ask to see one cut open.

[Okanagancook]

I asked a friend who has been a tree fruit farmer for years here in the Okanagan....he said that you can't tell just by looking at the peach but he noted that free stones are usually ripe later in the peach season. He also said that they don't travel well after picking so you don't see many in the grocery store....much of them go for juice. He thought your best bet for acquiring free stones is at a farmers market.