Lucky Louise! How exciting to have freshly picked peaches at your disposal! You are right—you can substitute fresh peaches in recipes that call for canned like in my Peach Bavarian Cake or Peaches & Cream, but will most likely need to remove the skin. Peach skins can be easily removed by blanching.

To blanch:

1) Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil.

2) Prepare an ice water bath and set aside.

3) Make an “X” at the base of each peach with a sharp paring knife (this will help you to peel the skin off later on.)

4) Drop the peaches, a few at a time, into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and quickly plunge into the awaiting ice water bath.

5) Peel the skin away from the flesh, using a paring knife for help if needed. The skin should come off easily, and the flesh should not be too soft. Remember: You don’t want to cook the peaches; you just want to heat them enough to loosen the skin.

And that’s all there is to it! (Tomatoes can be skinned in exactly the same way.) Keep in mind that peeled peaches will discolor rapidly when exposed to air, so if not using immediately, simply drizzle with a bit of lemon juice to keep them from browning.

Enjoy baking with your delicious fresh peaches!