Stephen Albert
Nectarines come to harvest in spring and continue through summer. If you get to know your nectarines and choose from early, midseason, and late harvest varieties, you can have fresh, local nectarines at your table for nearly half the year.
The best way to select nectarines is to smell them and gently squeeze them. A nectarine ready for eating out of hand will be fragrant and not too hard. A ripe nectarine will give to gentle pressure at its seam.
Stay away from greenish colored nectarines or those that are too hard, cracked, bruised, or have blemishes.
There are hundreds of varieties of nectarines. Here are descriptions of several nectarines you might want to try and a note on when they come to harvest:
Arctic Jay: large nectarine with pale yellow skin and red blush; flesh is white with a rich, sweet flavor; freestone. Midseason harvest.
Artic Rose: medium-size fruit with a white to pale yellow skin and red blush; white, sweet flesh; semi-freestone. Early harvest.
Artic Star: large nectarine with bright red skin; white flesh is very sweet and rich flavored; semi-freestone. Early harvest.
Armking: large nectarine with olive-green skin and reddish cast; flesh is yellow with sweet aroma, semi-freestone; from California. Early harvest.
Desert Dawn: small to medium fruit with red skin; yellow, firm, sweet, juicy flesh and aromatic; semi-freestone; from California. Early harvest.
Double Delight: medium-size fruit with dark red skin; yellow flesh with rich flavor; freestone. Midseason harvest.
Fairlane: large nectarine with red over yellow skin; yellow flesh; clingstone; from California. Late harvest.
Fantasia: large oval fruit with bright red over yellow skin; yellow, firm, smooth flesh with excellent flavor; freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
Firebright: large nectarine with red over yellow skin; firm, smooth, juicy, yellow flesh with great flavor; semi-freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
Fire Sweet: medium nectarine with flaming red and yellow skin; firm, smooth, juicy yellow flesh that is very sweet; clingstone from California. Midseason harvest.
Flavortop: large nectarine with red skin flecked; yellow; firm, juicy, golden yellow flesh streaked with red and great flavor; freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
Goldmine: large fruit with red blushed over white skin; white flesh that is tasty; freestone from New Zealand. Late harvest.
Heavenly White: very large nectarine with creamy white skin that is heavily blushed red; white flesh and excellent flavor that is favored by connoisseurs; freestone. Midseason harvest.
Independence: medium to large nectarine with cherry-red skin; firm, yellow flesh and good flavor; freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
John Rivers: medium to large fruit with white skin and crimson blush; greenish white flesh is tender and juicy; semi-freestone from England. Early harvest.
Juneglo: medium-size fruit with red skin; yellow flesh and very good flavor; freestone. Early havest.
Le Grand: large nectarine with bright red and yellow skin; yellow flesh with rubbery texture; delicate, semi-acid taste; clingstone from California. Late harvest.
Liz’s Late: medium-size nectarine with red-over-yellow skin; yellow flesh with a sweet-spicy flavor; freestone. Late harvest.
Mericrest: medium-size nectarine with bright red skin; yellow, flavorful flesh; freestone. Midseason harvest.
Nectar Babe: small to medium-size fruit with dark red skin; yellow flesh with good flavor; freestone. Midseason harvest.
Necta Zee: medium-size nectarine with red skin; yellow flesh is sweet and flavorful; freestone; Early to midseason harvest.
Panamint: medium to large fruit with bright red skin; yellow flesh; freestone California. Midseason harvest.
Pioneer: small to medium sized nectarine with a thin yellow skin with a red blush; yellow flesh touched with red; freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
Ruby Grand: large nectarine with ruby skin; firm yellow flesh with great flavor; freestone. Early to midseason harvest.
Silver Lode: medium fruit that is most red over creamy yellow with red specks; juicy, sweet flavor; freestone from California. Early to midseason harvest.
Snow Queen: very large nectarine that is fair-skinned and a light russet blush; white, melting, juicy flesh that is fine textured; freestone from California. Early harvest.
Southern Belle: large fruit with yellow skin and red blush; yellow flesh has good flavor; freestone. Early harvest.
Stanwick: medium fruit with a greenish white skin that has a shade of purple red; white flesh is juicy; semi-freestone origin unknown. Late harvest.
Stark Sunglo: large fruit with yellow skin overspread in part with red; yellow flesh that reddens near pit; slightly acid flavor; freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
Stribling Giant Free: large nectarine with yellow skin blushed with red; yellow tasty flesh; freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
Stribling White Free: large fruit with white skin blushed with red; white, sweet and juicy flesh with a creamy texture; freestone from California. Early harvest.
Sun Grand: large nectarine with red-blushed yellow skin; firm, yellow flesh; freestone from California. Midseason harvest.
Sunred: small to medium fruit with bright red skin; yellow flesh is firm and flavorful; semi-freestone from Florida. Early harvest.
2W68W: large nectarine with red over yellow skin; firm flesh and excellent flavor; freestone from California. Early to midseason harvest.
