The book titled “The Perfect Fruit: Good Breeding, Bad Seeds, and the Hunt for the Elusive Pluot” is a look into the California stone fruit industry, its breeders, farmers, history and commerce, its controversies and intrigue.
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California is the largest producer of peaches in the United States. There are more that 1,100 growers in the Central San Joaquin Valley that combined, produce about 60 percent of U.S. fresh peaches. Peach production is centered near Reedley, California, just south of the city of Fresno. About 90 percent of California peaches are grown in Fresno, Tulare, and Kern counties
Of the United States, South Carolina is second in peach production, growing 15 percent of the U.S. crop, while Georgia is third, supplying 13 percent of U.S. peaches.
Superfruit status has typically been left to more exotic fruits like, acai, goji and pomegranates. As those fruits move to the mainstream more and more familiar fruits are making it onto the superfruit roster. Health Watch articles like this one are popping up online and including peaches in the Superfruit category. That’s because they are packed with potassium, high in antioxidants, an excellent source of vitamin A, a good source of vitamin C and beta carotene. For a full nutrition profile refer back to the previous post on peach nutrition.
When most of us think about peaches we are thinking about a yellow peach. The kind you find at your grandparents house that are a delicious mess to eat. There are also white flesh peach varieties out there that look similar the yellow flesh varieties we’re used to. People have complained that they bought peaches from the market, took them home and let them ripen only to find that they were still firm after a few days. Turns out they picked white flesh varieties and thought they were getting yellow flesh, which is a common mistake. There are differences in appearance, texture and taste that are important to know for the next time you’re at the market.
Yellow peaches: These are the traditional peaches most of us are used to. They have deep yellow background color overlaid with pink or red blush color and deep yellow flesh inside. They are ready-to-eat when they give to a little bit of palm pressure and have a balance of sweet and tart flavors. These varieties are a little more tart when firm.
White peaches: These peaches have increased in popularity since the late 1980’s. They have a creamy yellow background color overlaid with pink or red blush color and creamy yellow flesh inside. They are naturally less tart and can be ready-to-eat when firm and crunchy. White peaches will ripen faster than yellow peaches and are sub-acid or less acidic. This means you can eat more of them without getting an upset stomach.
The mystery of food seems to slowly be getting figured out these days, as more consumers are demanding more information about how their food is grown, processed and delivered. Even when it comes to fresh products like peaches there seem to still be plenty of mysteries out there about where they are from and how to pick out the best one. Here are 15 facts about peaches to get a good start on solving the mysteries.
1.) Peaches originate in China and were mentioned in literature around 1000 BCE.
2.) They were brought west by the Silk Road.
3.) Ancient Romans called them Persian Apples.
4.) The Spanish brought them to Florida in the 1500’s.
5.) Spanish missionaries brought them to California in the 1700’s.
6.) A peach tree takes 7 years to fully mature.
7.) A mature tree can produce 800-1200 peaches per tree every season!
8.) There are over 200 different varieties of peaches.
9.) Peaches from the U.S. are available only from (May – September) anything outside of those months is from the Southern Hemisphere.
10.) Varieties have a very specific harvest windows IE: one variety might be ready for harvest the first week of June while another variety isn’t ready to pick until late August.
11.) There are two distinct types of varieties – white flesh and yellow flesh.
12.) White flesh are sweet even when crispy and are “Sub-Acid.”
13.) Plant breeders can naturally cross varieties to get a specific flavor, size or color.
14.) Yellow flesh peaches will become sweeter as they soften as the natural balance of sugar and acid changes.
15.) There are also Clingstone peaches and Freestone peaches. Clingstone are mostly used for canning and Freestone are the ones you most likely see fresh in the market.
