Kind of like peaches ‘n’ cream, tonight I had nectarines and vanilla ice cream (that really good, double-churned, extra smooth Breyer’s). These are the Mericrest variety of nectarines. They taste pretty much like peaches (perhaps slightly more bitter than a peach?) but they have no fuzz, so their skin is completely edible. The skin has a deep red color, which is repeated in the color of the pit and the flesh immediately around the pit. The red makes a nice-looking accent — these could make for a good-looking culinary masterpiece-type dessert! I do like the way the red shows up in the cobbler I’ve made before.

I have learned a couple of things about my nectarines this year:

1. I will not leave them on the tree this long next year. I waited until they were ripe on the tree, but that makes them spoil too fast. I keep throwing out moldy or oozing ones. Next year, I’ll have to pick a little earlier, while they’re still somewhat firm and let them ripen on the kitchen counter.
2. Someone told me this year to put them in brown paper bags, and they ripen better that way. This may work, but because some of them were getting soft on the outside, they got moldy inside the paper bags.
3. So, next year, I’ll pick in mid-August and place them in bags and see what happens.