Posts Tagged ‘peach facts’

A Refreshing Take on a Dirty List

Monday, September 14th, 2009

In this article from townhall.com the author Angela Logomasini shares her thoughts about the health benefits of, amongst other things, peaches. The article starts with reference to a Good Morning America segment that aired recently that featured the E.W.G.’s “Dirty Dozen” list. While the “Dirty Dozen” list isn’t new it was refreshing to see that Angela’s response wasn’t typical. (A typical response is reposing the list and telling people that eating peaches is bad for you)

She cited research from the Harvard School of Public Health and quoted researcher Dr. Luis Cisneros Texas A&M University:

Cisneros notes: “Stone fruits are super fruits with plums as emerging stars.” In fact, studies conducted by Cisneros and Bryne find anti-oxidants in plums are as high as those found in blueberries, which are usually touted as the number one source for these cancer-fighting chemicals. Peaches and nectarines also tested quite high in for anti-oxidant value. Cisneros and Bryne are developing a red-skinned peach that could prove even more beneficial.”

Along with Angela’s research findings there is more research that puts the “Dirty Dozen” list in terms we can better understand. California peach growers along with other groups of farmers have soon to be published research balancing the argument.

Excerpt from their findings: Dr. Robert Krieger, a toxicologist with the Personal Chemical Exposure Program, University of California, states that if you consider the highest residues found from the past three years, a child, a teen or an adult would have to eat 400 to nearly 16,000 servings a day to reach the science based no effect level. The no effect level simply means that you still won´t see any negative health effects, even after consuming those extreme amounts of fruit.



Where are most peaches grown?

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

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.

15 Facts About Peaches

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

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.