Your Guide to the Best Kinds of Peaches (and How to Cook With Them)

Summer isn’t really summer without the sweet juice of a peach running down your chin. There are four types of peaches, and each kind has its own purpose. Some work best baked up in pies, crisps and cobblers, while others are great for grilling or chopping into salsas and salads. Then, of course, there's the type that tastes best just eaten with a napkin for dripping.

Read this before hitting the farmers' market: All types of peaches fit in one of two categories, clingstone or freestone (stone refers to the pit inside). Freestone peaches have a stone (or pit) that easily pulls away from the flesh. Clingstone, on the other hand, refers to peaches where the flesh sticks to the pit or stone. The clingstones, which are firmer in general, tend to be used for commercial purposes (think canned peaches), whereas freestones are what you will find most at a grocery store. See below for our full guide to types of peaches, plus some tips on how to use them in your summer cooking.