Nectarines are a type of peach that comes in many colors and while they may look ripe on the outside, it can be hard to tell if they’re actually ready to eat!
If you want to know how to ripen nectarines quickly or want to know if they are ready to eat, then you are in the right place.
In this article, you will learn how to tell if a nectarine is ripe, along with three helpful tips and techniques to make the ripening process as quick as possible!
With that said, let us get into it.
How to Tell if a Nectarine is Ripe?
It can be a bit difficult to tell if a nectarine is ripe just by looking at it. But, there are some clear-cut signs you can tell when the fruit is fit and ready to eat.
Here are three techniques you can use to pick out a ripe nectarine every time!
Color
The first way to tell that a nectarine is ripe is by looking at its color. A fully ripe nectarine will be almost completely orange or yellow.
Touch
As nectarines ripen, the skin will become softer and juicier. You will be able to tell that a nectarine is ripe by simply touching it. If the fruit is tough and too hard when you touch it, then you know it will need some more time to ripen.
A soft and squishy nectarine is one that is ready to eat.
Scent
The most obvious way to tell if a nectarine is ripe is by its scent. Ripe nectarines have a unique scent, where they will smell a bit like roses or honey depending on the variety of nectarine you have. The fragrance will usually have a sweet, fruity scent when the fruit is ripe.
Taste
Lastly, many people can tell if a nectarine is ripe by simply tasting it. If the nectarine tastes sweet and juicy, then it is most likely ready to eat
If you find that a nectarine is not as sweet as you would like it to be, then you can try ripening it using one of the techniques below.
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4 Best Ways to Ripen Nectarines Quickly
If you have nectarines that are not fully ripe, you can ripen them quickly using one of these methods:
Brown Paper Bag with an Apple, Banana, or Tomato
This is actually how to speed up the ripening process of any fruit. This works because ethylene gas is released by apples, bananas, and tomatoes (the process is called “biological transpiration”). Ethylene causes nearby fruit to ripen faster.
Once you put your nectarine in a paper bag with an ethylene-producing fruit, it should take about 1-3 days for the nectarine to ripen.
Place Them Somewhere Warm
If you want to speed up the process, even more, place your nectarine in a spot where it will be warm. The warmer the environment, the faster the nectarine will ripen.
You can wrap it in paper towels and place it by a window that gets a lot of sunlight or a warm corner of the room.
Depending on the warmth of your environment, it will take 1-3 days for the nectarine to ripen.
Bury Them in a Pot of Rice
This is actually my favorite hack when it comes to ripening fruit. While rice is the magic cure to water-damaged cellphones, but it can also help speed up the ripening process of fruit.
All you need to do is cover the nectarine in a container filled with rice. The uncooked rice will help to trap the ethylene gas released by the nectarine, which helps to speed up the ripening process.
Store at Room Temperature
If you are not in a hurry, you can store the nectarine at room temperature and have them ripen. Make sure to place it somewhere that gets sunlight (if possible). You may want to consider placing it near bananas, apples, or tomatoes to ensure that the process goes faster. If you follow this method, give yourself a couple days for the fruit to fully ripen.
Once it has any of the characteristics listed earlier (smell, touch, taste and color), your nectarine should be ready.
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Wrapping it up
If you need to ripen nectarines quickly, you can try one of the 4 methods we mentioned earlier.
My personal favorite is placing the nectarine in a brown paper bag with an apple, banana, or tomato as it is quick, easy and usually gets the job done.
Now I want to hear from you…
Which method from our list are you going to go with to ripen your nectarines? Do you think the method we outlined above works well? Let us know in the comments below!
