How to slice nectarines

I did this vid today for people I've met who don't know how to quarter nectarines.

To quarter fresh nectarines: follow the grooves in the top of the fruit; use them as nature's guideline.

Wash the fruit and use your index fingernail to pick at the stem, which should pop out and go down the drain easily. Then once the fruit has dried, use the grooves on the top end (where the stem was attached) to slide the blade of the knife into the flesh.
Next, push in till you feel the pit (you'll know when you feel it and you'll hear it scrape along the rough pit surface), and roll the fruit (you don't have to move the knife) on a cutting board (DON'T hold it like I did -- I held it for the camera so you could see it) and let the knife blade drag across the pit. Then make the second cut, leaving an "X" on top of the fruit.

_Gently_ twist the fruit to make the quarters fall away, then twist the pit off the last quarter (the pit nearly always sticks to one quarter section).

I then chop the quarters into two or three chunks, toss them in a large bowl, then afterwards, I get out some Ziplock Snack Bags, and fill each bag just comfortably full, so it "zips" shut easily. I put these baggies in the freezer, then use one per "Smoothie" I make.

I pull open a frozen baggie, turn the baggie inside out over the blender so I don't even get my hands dirty, then add white milk to the blender till it reaches the 3-cup line. After this, I make sure the lid's on tight, then press the "chop" button cycle, followed by the "blend" cycle button.

Pour into large tumblers, add a straw or two, and there's a sweet Summer treat you can enjoy all year long. I haven't made smoothies with soya milk, but it might work as well.

Most people I've met don't know fresh nectarines freeze incredibly well and taste fresh-picked even months later. No messy canning or jelly-making involved, and no added sugar.

I sometimes enjoy the fresh fruit in a dish as well, no milk or sugar added, although I admit the thawed chunks are a bit mushy.

I also freeze fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and more and put them into baggies and use them for smoothies any time of year. 6-8 largish strawberries with milk added to the 3 cup line is delicious. About 1/2 cup blueberries or similar fruit works the same.
Sometimes I combine fruits (especially bits and pieces).

Each smoothie serves two (ideally).

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• nectarines
• smoothies
• fruit
• fruit smoothies
• healthy
• healthy treats
• healthy snacks
• healthy drinks
• knives
• strawberry
• strawberries
• blueberries
• blueberry
• raspberry
• raspberries
• milk
• no sugar added