How To Perfectly Remove a Peach Pit With a Pair of Pliers

If you’ve ever had the fortune of buying a summer peach straight from a farmstand, you know there’s nothing quite like it. Its natural sweetness, juicy flesh, and fuzzy skin basically scream summer. But if you’re someone who struggles with how to pit a peach before you slice it or bake it into a cobbler without making a giant mess, a pair of pliers (yes, seriously) may be just the tool you need to enjoy as many peaches as possible this season.

Before you learn some methods for slicing open a peach, a note on why they’re one of the better stone fruits (besides their unmatchable flavor). According to integrative and functional dietitian Nour Zibdeh, MS, RDN, CLT, peaches contain a solid amount of vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps protect your immune system, and skin-healthy, eye-healthy vitamin A. They also feature fiber, which is excellent for your gut health, and potassium (which helps regulate blood pressure). Not to mention, they’re super hydrating for those hot, steamy summer days.

And thus, while the flavor alone is enough to make you want to pry open the peach and take a big bite, the health benefits are the cherry on top. Below, learn how to use a pair of pliers to pitch a peach perfectly each time. And if you don’t have a pair of pliers on hand, we found a few other techniques to help you crack that peach open and start enjoying it ASAP.

How To Tell if a Peach Is Ready To Eat

If you’re having trouble exhuming the pit from your peach, it may not be ready to enjoy just yet. A ripe peach will be soft to the touch and feature a dark yellow color. So if you find that your peaches are still hard, wrap them up in a paper bag, roll up the bag, and leave them sitting on your kitchen counter. This will trap ethylene gas that helps them soften so you can enjoy that cobbler, fruit salad, or snack faster.

How To Remove a Peach Pit With Needlenose Pliers

Originally a TikTok trend, this plier peach hack could not be more simple. If you want to try it, buy a brand-new pair of pliers (you don’t want to use an old pair of pliers that are rusty and dirty, for obvious reasons).

1. Wash your peach until it’s free of dirt and ready to eat.

2. Open the pliers, so they’re just about an inch wide. Locate the top of the peach, where the stem is attached to the fruit.

3. Holding the peach in one hand and the pliers in the other, push the pliers (still open) through the fruit’s skin just above the hole where the stem is attached. They should wrap around the pit below the flesh.

4. Twist the peach counterclockwise with your hand while you twist the pair of pliers clockwise.

5. Gently pull the pit up and out of the peach. And there you have it.

Other Ways To Pit a Peach

The Old-Fashioned Method

This one’s really easy. To cut your peach, grab a knife and slice it down the curved line that runs vertically down the peach and all the way around the other side of the fruit. Next, split the peach in half and gently wiggle the pit out with your fingers.

The Equator Method

Rather than following the natural seam of the peach, slice horizontally around the fruit, twisting the two halves against one another before gently pulling them apart. Then, remove the seed with your fingers.

Now that you’ve pitted your peaches, you’re ready to bake. Try this vegan peach cobbler:

More Fruits With Pits To Remove Easily

Fun fact: Peaches are considered a stone fruit, and they’re actually part of the rose family. All stone fruits feature a large pit (the “stone”) that holds a seed. And since every fruit in this category has a similar shape and seed, you can use the instructions above to pit them just like you’d pit a peach. (That said, you may need a smaller pair of pliers to pit some of the tinier varieties.)

Here’s a list of stone fruits you can open using pliers, the old-school method, and the equator method:

• Peaches
• Plums
• Cherries
• Apricots
• Nectarines