Freezing peaches?

[Bastelmutti]

If I get some nice summer peaches to freeze for the fall/winter, do I need to blanch them & remove the skin first? We would be using them mostly for winter smoothies, so not really defrosting them.

[Nella]

I would blanch and peel them. Be sure to use some citric acid on them, or they'll turn brown when they're in the freezer. Even if you're using them for smoothies, I would still blanch and peel. I've both frozen and canned peaches. I like both methods for different reasons. If you have a huge unexpected bounty of peaches, I would freeze some to make jams with later in the year. It always seemed a waste of time and effort to carefully prepare and process canned peaches just for use later in jam. I use the canned peaches for "pretty" dishes, like peaches with cream or icecream, tarts, that kind of thing. The frozen ones are good for basic pies, muffins and the like.

[Gina]

Other than for aesthetics or perhaps mouth feel, what is the purpose of peeling peaches? I really don't know. I used to do it, but no longer do. I can't tell much of a difference.

When I make smoothies or blender ice cream with fresh peaches, I just pop the whole fruit in. I like the color that the skins add.

[puglogic]

I made smoothies all winter last year that way -- I didn't even blanch, just washed, sliced, tossed them with ascorbic acid solution (Fruit Fresh or an equivalent). They were great.