I grew up with my dad in the fruit business. This is NOT the way to peel peaches for the best flavor. Peaches blanched in hot water do not taste nearly as good as peaches peeled with a knife. Sorry, but you are not going to convince me, I have peeled more peaches than I can count. A good freestone peach that is ripe will peel very easily anyway, and the cling peach needs to be peeled with a vegetable peeler. Thanks for your input, Lora. I won't try to convince you - no Baking Police here! And when peaches are being consumed fresh, blanching may affect their flavor. But I stand by this method for baking - since you're going to be slicing and baking the peaches anyway, a 30-second dip in hot water (followed by 45 minutes in a 350°F oven) isn't going to have a noticeable effect on flavor. And for someone who lacks knife skills (me), or who has arthritis (my mom), it's a godsend. PJH

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