I believe summer recipes should be simple most of the time. What is a recipe for, if not to make the most of the ingredients at hand? The summer bounty is a little miracle of the world: Dirt and sunlight and a tiny seed blossom into lush tomatoes, fat zucchini, fragrant basil leaves. There is no prose as eloquent as the smell of a warm tomato leaf.
To make the most of these is to embrace fully the generosity of these little miracles. This way of cooking has, historically, been a way of life. Folks have made the most of every single thing available to them long before our relatively modern ideas of “nose to tail” or “root to leaf” had taken off.
This doesn’t just apply to cooking. In the 1910s, Glenna Garner designed an air-filtration system for gas masks that used charcoal filters, and her husband, James B. Garner, adapted these masks to use fruit stones instead. When researching peach pit uses for this column, I came across several World War I advertisements admonishing American citizens to save the pits of their peaches: “It’s Like Throwing Away the Lives of Our Soldiers to Throw Away Peach Stones,” screams a headline from one Indiana newspaper.
This recipe for peach pits, thankfully, is not as dire as the historical headlines. The flavor of the pits is more subtle than the flesh, and tastes a little different, too. The flavor is similar to almond; in fact, many foods that are almond-flavored (almond liqueur, marzipan) are sometimes made using stone fruit pit.
You may have heard that stone fruit pits contain cyanide. Never fear: The trace amount of this undesirable compound is found within the pit, and the pits must be crushed or chewed to be dangerous (even swallowing a pit whole wouldn’t hurt you).
Even so, one would have to intentionally digest a large quantity of crushed pits to be in any danger at all. I suggest we don’t, and instead use the pits in preparations known to be safe.
Ingredients
Makes 1/2 cup
- About 8 peach pits, cleaned and dried (some fruit residue is fine)1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (or roughly 1 tbsp per pit)
Directions
- Add the peach pits to a clean, dry mason jar or other storage jar with tight-fitting lid. Pour the vinegar over the pits, just to cover.
- Tightly screw on the lid, and shake the vinegar mixture for a minute or so.
- Leave the jar in a cool, dry place for 2–3 weeks, shaking thoroughly every couple of days.
- After two weeks, taste the vinegar; if the vinegar has enough almond-peach flavor for your liking, strain. If not, leave another few days and taste again.
- Once the vinegar is done infusing, strain the vinegar. Put a reusable coffee filter over another clean, dry mason jar, and slowly pour the vinegar into the new jar. One all the liquid has transferred, set the peach pits (as many as will fit) into the coffee filter and let drain until completely dry to make sure you get all of the flavor out. If you don’t have a coffee filter, create a little hammock within the mouth of the jar using doubled-up cheesecloth and a tight rubber band, and pour vinegar through the cheesecloth. Leave the pits in the hammock until completely dry.
Notes
This infused vinegar can be made with any manner of stone fruit pits. Apricot, nectarine, and even cherry pits can be substituted here; for each, follow the directions above, filling the jar with just enough vinegar to cover the pits.
You can play around with the vinegar you use, too. Champagne vinegar is particularly indulgent, and regular white vinegar will work just as well as apple cider vinegar. Balsamic vinegar infusions would also be delicious, though I would use a less expensive brand here.
Hard alcohol, like vodka or whiskey, also lends itself well to stone fruit pit flavors, and can make interesting cocktails or hard iced tea for the summer.
How to use
Use the strained peach pit vinegar in vinaigrette for salads and in marinades for chicken or pork. Add a dash of acidity to simple syrups for sweet tea or maple syrup to use in ice cream toppings or in Bellinis. Mix with a little mustard for charcuterie boards, or use in oil-and-vinegar bowls to dip bread and vegetables. Make a balsamic vinegar version for crostini or Caprese salads.
Hannah Green's Root-to-Leaf column appears monthly.
