Peaches

Peaches

When was the last time you had a soft juicy sweet tender peach? A real “kitchen-sink peach”; the kind you want to lean over a sink to eat when you bite into it and the juices burst out?

Originally cultivated in China over 2,500 years ago, the peach traveled west to Persia and was met with such enthusiasm that many assumed it was a native fruit. Once on its journey westward, the peach won over Spain and from there the Americas. There are many varieties of peach but they all share a fuzzy skin and sweet, sumptuous flesh in yellow or white. Spring and early summer peaches are most often clingstone peaches which do not give up their pit easily and are often canned or poached. Later in the peach season, freestones take the spotlight. These peaches separate nicely from the pit and can be halved or sliced for a more refined presentation. The tremendous popularity of the peach is supported by its incredible versatility. Whether they are baked, roasted, canned, macerated, sliced, grilled, pickled or fresh off the branch peaches are sheer pleasure to eat.

Our peach growers are part of the Eco Stonefruit program, using the most advanced ecological and Integrated Pest Management methods to produce delicious fruit. The orchards are certified annually by the IPM Institute of North America.

Peaches

Peaches are best enjoyed when picked ripe. A ripe peach can still be hard but the sugars will have matured. Follow your nose, the aroma will call out to you when you find a ripe peach. Peaches will soften off the tree but will not continue to ripen once picked. You can soften them by placing your peaches stem side down in a dark cool room. Once, properly softened, peaches can be stored in the refrigerator for one or two days. Be sure to bring them back to room temperature before eating.