Seasonality
Varieties
Varieties we grow and love:
We actually grow so many varieties, I can’t keep track. This allows us to have peaches for a very extended season…which is what we all want, right? To keep it simple:
- Yellow Peaches – Yellow to dark peachy-red skin with golden flesh
- White Peaches – Pale whitish-yellow skin with a peach blush
- Nectarines are really just fuzz-less peaches
Then there is the distinction of cling or free stone! Don’t worry if you don’t know the difference, it does not matter unless you are pitting them 🙂 In general, the early season peaches are clingstone and the mid to late season varieties are freestone.
Storage
As always, fresh produce is most delicious and nutritious when consumed as close to the harvest date as possible.
We pick our peaches as close to ripe as we can. This is tricky because they do not travel well if they are dead ripe. Also, fresh ripe peaches can be deceptively firm feeling and one does not realize how ripe they are until the juice has dripped onto your shirt. Peaches that are not quite ripe can sit on the counter for a day or two, otherwise they should be stored in the fridge.
I cannot stress enough how carefully peaches should be handled. Squeezing them, dropping them, piling things on top of them, even if they are hard, WILL be a bruise in a day or so.
Culinary Info
– can be enjoyed in: enjoy those first clingstones fresh, out of the hand
- cobbler and crisp
- jam
- grilled with meat (or skip the meat and put ’em on ice cream)
- pie
- bellinis or other fun beverages
Tips for preparing:
Also check out these great recipes:
