Anybody who was an adolescent or teenager in the mid 90s probably remembers the popular song, “Peaches”, by a band called The Presidents of the United States of America. Now, these men were neither presidents nor farmers, but like many people, they loved peaches hence the repeated lyric “millions of peaches, peaches for me”.
While none of us could actually eat millions of peaches, sometimes it seems like there are millions of different varieties to choose from. Most people think that a peach is a peach and, in the image that they conjure up in their head, the flesh is yellow. However, there are over 2,000 different varieties of peaches separated into 2 main classes: yellow fleshed and white fleshed. Yellow peaches are more acidic and as a result tend to be a bit more tart, especially when firm. White peaches are naturally less tart and less acidic, as a result, they can be eaten when still a bit firm. Within these 2 categories the seasonality and specific flavors can vary greatly. Although they were both excellent, the white peach that I got from Hollabaugh Brothers had a softer skin and was less acidic than the one that I got from Peters Orchard earlier this week which was a bit firmer. And, each week a new variety is ripe, when I asked which varieties of white peaches they had the young lady at Peters Orchard said “last week it was Spring Snow, this week its Sugar May”.
So, take time to try a new variety each week, because before you know it, peach season will be over.
For where to find local peaches check out these sites:
www.acfarmersmarkets.org
agmap.psu.edu
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