0The New Complete Book of Food
slow the reaction (but not stop it completely) by chilling the fruit or by dipping it in an acid
solution (lemon juice and water or vinegar and water) or by mixing the sliced peaches and
nectarines into a fruit salad with citrus fruits.What Happens When You Cook This Food
When you cook peaches, pectins in the cell walls dissolve and the fruit softens. As noted
above, cling peaches will stay firmer than freestones. Cooking peaches and nectarines also
destroys polyphenoloxidase and keeps the fruit from darkening.How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Drying. Drying removes water and concentrates the peach flesh. Ounce for ounce, dried
peaches have up to three times as much vitamin A as fresh peaches. One fresh peach weighing
87 g (about three ounces) has 470 IU vitamin A. A similar serving of uncooked dried peaches
has approximately 1,880 IU. Like other dried fruits, dried peaches may be treated with sulfites
(sodium sulfite) that inhibit polyphenoloxidase and keep the peaches from darkening. People
who are sensitive to sulfites may suffer serious allergic reactions, including potentially lethal
anaphylactic shock, if they eat dried peaches treated with these compounds.Medical Uses and/or Benefits
* * *Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Allergic reaction. According to the Merck Manual, peaches are one of the 12 foods most
likely to trigger classic food allergy symptoms: hives, swelling of the lips and eyes, and
upset stomach. The others are berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries),
chocolate, corn, eggs, fish, legumes (green peas, lima beans, peanuts, soybeans), milk, nuts,
pork, shellfish, and wheat (see wheat cereals).
Sulfite allergies. See How other kinds of processing affect this food, above.Food/Drug Interactions
* * *