Went to the grocery store yesterday, and the nectarines were significantly cheaper than the peaches. I looooooove peaches, but I had a moment of misplaced frugality and got nectarines, thinking “close enough.”
They aren’t.
That is all.
Hmm, now that you mention it, you never see canned nectarines in those little lunch-box snack cups, either. I don’t believe I’ve ever been offered a serving of nectarine cobbler in my life, not even from my misguided southern relatives who deep-fry anything that isn’t nailed down, bless their hearts.
Verrrry mysterious, doncha think?
Thanks for the PSA, Twicks.
I like nectarines so much more than peaches! They are firmer, they take longer to get squishy, the fruit easily slides off the pit rather than sticking on in a fibrous mess, the smooth texture is nicer to feel than the fuzziness of peaches, and frankly, I think they are usually sweeter.
But I’ll take a good plum over either any day. Mmmm, it seems to be plum season again…
Plus, my Garnier Fructis hair products smell like nectarines, for that wrap-around eating/showering experience.
I had a nice red plum Friday. I like the ones that are red inside, as opposed to the ones that are yellow.
Evidently, they are fuzz-free peaches.
I’m not convinced though. They just aren’t the same!! :mad:
Yoplait make a nectarine yogurt in their Source line. It’s rather nice, too. A little tangier than the peach.
You just have to ask if they’re free-stone peaches. If not, then pass them up by all means.
I just don’t understand how the gas grill mania sucked peaches into its sphere. I have no desire to eat a grilled peach, nectarine or any other drupe. For us purists & obscurists, “Peaches Browning” can only conjure one image: “Honk Honk. It’s the Bonk!”
Fine, so a nectarine isn’t “just” a fuzz-free peach. But it’s a damn yummy fruit in its own right!
Any fruit that needs a shave is just weird.
Oh, sure. Next you’ll be harping about kiwis.
Fruitist.
I like peaches and I like nectarines, but there good nectarines and bad nectarines. The good ones taste as good or better than peaches, but the bad ones taste like wax.
Gah! Kiwis are even worse. Hairy testicle fruit!
Fruitist! 
I like them, but now you reminded me that in Central American nations they are indeed called “Monkey balls”!
I make some nice nectarine muffins.
Trader Joe’s actually had a sign up the other day saying that nectarines are just peaches without the fuzz…I thought that was strange…perhaps nectarine sales have been slow…
I don’t care if they are, botanically, the same thing – nectarines are a sad, pale imitation of peaches. As BBV Lou points out, they’re not squishy – but it is the squishiness of the peach that makes it The Best Summer Fruit. A peach at the proper eating moment should be so juicy that you have to stand over the kitchen sink to eat it, and then wash your hands and face afterwards.
Unless, of course, you’re moving on directly to another peach.
Mmmm, peaches.
I think I’ll give the rest of the nectarines to my sidekick at work so I can go buy some real fruit.
I’ve had plenty juicy nectarines. I’ve had trees full of both peaches and nectarines in my back yard for side by side comparison and they’ve both been amazing succulent sun ripened sugary squishy wonders that will run down your chin and cover you in luscious sticky fruit juice. I think you’re getting lousy nectarines.
We got nectarines and plums in our fruit and veg delivery this week and I made cobbler with them last night because I don’t like plums that much on their own. It was grand!
I prefer nectarines. You can’t get good peaches here for some reason - they’re all watery and don’t come clean off the pit. Nectarines are firmer and sweeter (and don’t taste like fuzz).
Nectarines come from the produce department.
Peaches come from a can. They were put there by a man in a factory downtown.
As others have said, there are peach varieties and there are nectarine varieities; some good and some not so good in both category; furthermore, there are varieties of both that don’t seem so good simply because they have been picked too early or have not experienced growing conditions optimum for sweet, juicy fruit.
I’ll admit though, that the ‘not so good’ experience does seem to happen more often with nectarines than it does with peaches; if most nectarine varities come from a single non-fuzzy-peach-sport parentage, then it may be that there is some kind of founder effect in play - i.e. maybe the peach parent of that initial variety of nectarines wasn’t a great one.
Trader Joe’s is the source for my favorite summer snack: frozen peaches. One minute in the microwave and you have a cool and healthy bit of fruit heaven.
Otherwise I much prefer a good nectarine when I can find one. The ones around here always seem to come up sweeter and juicier than peaches.