A peach without the fuzz — same fruit, one gene apart.
A nectarine is a peach. The difference is a single recessive gene controlling skin fuzz;
everything else about the plant and the fruit is essentially the same.
Nutritionally
they are near-identical, though nectarines tend to be slightly firmer and a little higher in
vitamin C and carotenoids on average.
Because the skin is smooth, more people eat it,
which incidentally means more fibre consumed than from a peeled peach.
Per 100g, with skin.
Based on the nutrients and fibre this food supplies. These are supporting foods, not treatments.
Same rules as peaches. Fragrance at the stem, slight give at the shoulder,
ripen on the counter.
They hold their shape better when cooked, which
makes them the better choice for tarts and grilling.
Do not
refrigerate hard ones — cold stops the ripening process for
good.
Eat the skin. Smooth, thin and where the fibre is.
Nothing separates a nectarine from a peach nutritionally in any way that matters. Both are
low-calorie, high-water stone fruits with modest vitamin C and carotenoids.
The
practical advantage is behavioural: people peel peaches and don't peel nectarines, so the
nectarine usually delivers more fibre in real life.
Diabetes: whole fruit over juice, portion aware, and better eaten
with protein or fat than alone.
IBS: several fruits are high-FODMAP
and commonly trigger symptoms — tolerance is personal.
Kidney
disease: potassium may need limiting. Ask your doctor for your numbers.
This is information, not a prescription. If you are managing a diagnosed condition or taking medication, talk to your doctor before making a large change to your diet.
Nutrition figures on this page come from standard food composition data. These links let you check the numbers and read the underlying research yourself rather than taking our word for it.