• Don't refrigerate store-bought peaches until they've softened. The ripening process actually stops when the fruit is picked. Soften the peaches on your kitchen counter, feasting on their beauty until they're ready to eat.

• To skin peaches for cooking or eating, score the skin on the bottom and blanch in boiling water for one or two minutes. The skin will peel off easily.

• There are a couple of ways to freeze peaches. One is to place them unwashed on a cookie sheet so that they're not touching one another. When frozen, slip them into a plastic zipper bag and return to the freezer. When you want one or more, take them from the bag and run each peach under hot water so the skin slides right off.

• Or, slice - never dice - the softened peaches, skin on, pit gone, and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with just a little sugar to help retain that peachy color. Freeze in quart-size plastic zipper bags for your next peach craving. A quart bag holds enough for a good pie or cobbler.

• Remember, there's more to peaches than pie. Get creative with recipes using peaches for meat, poultry, fish dishes and salsa.

• Don't judge your peach by its cover. Blemished peaches are perfectly fine and may surprise you with goodness when the juice runs down your chin.