Looks like stellar summer peach party season

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

It beckons you. Pick each one up and sniff it before you stuff it into a plastic bag.

When you pick the peach up to smell it, touch it gently at the stem end. There should be a little give, that is, a softening. But the fruit should be firm overall. We've had good luck this year with the peaches from Costco — so juicy you had to eat them over the sink.

If you can't find peaches with fragrance and give, another option is to choose nectarines, which tend to survive transit better.

If you are fortunate enough to find peaches with the proper perfume, you need do no more than eat them out of hand. Or slice them for shortcake or breakfast cereal, puree them for sauce or Bellini cocktails, or chop them into homemade ice cream or unflavored yogurt. No broiling, baking, poaching or other culinary sleight-of-hand can capture peach essence as perfectly as the fruit in its raw state.

Immature, hard peaches that have no floral fragrance will never develop succulence and flavor. They might become soft, but will likely taste flat. However, if they're all you can get, or if you wish to capitalize on great peaches and simply can't eat all the raw fruit you find, there are some delicious prospects.

Roasting concentrates the sugar and flavor of a ripe peach. It is a simple process: cut the fruit in half, season it and put it in a hot oven for a few minutes. Our recipe suggests flavoring the peaches with herbs: lemon verbena, mint, thyme and rosemary complement peaches well. But you might try more traditional seasonings of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and ginger, or even curry powder if you intend to serve the roasted peaches with meat.

Roasted peaches are fine served plain, but are a touch more voluptuous when accompanied by ice cream, creme fraiche or whipped cream. Simpler additions such as fresh raspberries, blackberries or a madeleine cookie can be just as glamorous. Roasted peaches are also terrific toppers for french toast or pancakes, and work perfectly as a side dish to roasted or grilled pork, ham or poultry.

For more prolonged peach pleasure, consider preserves. You can put up chutney, relish, jam and pickles that will last a year on the shelf. Our chutney recipe is a nice side dish with roasted turkey, pork or duck.