Nectarines, raw

Nectarines are a smooth-skinned stone fruit, closely related to peaches, eaten fresh out of hand, sliced into salads and yogurt bowls, grilled alongside pork or chicken, or baked into cobblers and tarts. Their flesh is juicy and a touch firmer than a peach's, with a flavor ranging from tart to quite sweet depending on how ripe the fruit is, and because the skin doesn't need peeling, they're an easy fruit to slice straight into a bowl or pack whole for a lunchbox.

Choose nectarines that give slightly to gentle pressure and smell fragrant at the stem end; ripen firm fruit at room temperature in a paper bag for a day or two, then refrigerate ripe fruit and use within a few days before it softens too far. At just 44 calories per 100g, or about 62 calories for a typical 140g fruit, nectarines are a low-calorie way to add volume and natural sweetness to a meal or snack, with 1.7g of fiber and 7.89g of sugar per 100g coming from the fruit itself rather than any added sweetener, plus 1.06g of protein. Sodium is negligible at 0mg per 100g, making a sliced nectarine an easy addition to a lunchbox or a cheese board without adding much salt.