  It’s one of my earliest sensory memories: climbing our old white peach tree, picking one of the rosy fruits, and taking a big bite. The taste was sweet, floral, delicate — almost ethereal. The peach had been basking in the sun, and the hot sticky juice ran down my chin as I ate. Decades later I can still taste and feel it. The first local peaches began showing up at the farmers’ markets a couple of weeks ago. They’re even more welcome this year than usual because the late spring freezes in 2008 destroyed the central and southern Illinois peach crops, as well as much of those even further south. One farmer had a few dozen peaches. They were incredibly huge — the size of softballs. The sole survivors of the freeze, they’d received all the nutrients normally provided to a treeful of fruit.
Peaches have been around for a very long time, in fact, some food anthropologists believe peaches were the first cultivated fruits. They originated in China and have been cultivated there since at least 1000 B.C.E. Chinese culture bestows special significance on peaches: the peach tree is also known as the tree of life, and peaches are symbols of immortality. They also denote unity; Chinese brides carry peach blossoms.
Wild peach trees can still be found in China; their fruit is small, sour and very fuzzy. From China, peaches made their way to Persia (modern-day Iran) via the silk trade routes, and became so popular there that their botanical name is Prunus persica. In many languages, the word for peach is the same as the word for Persia. The Romans so valued them that individual fruits sold for the current-day equivalent of $4.50.
Peaches spread throughout Europe and then traveled to the New World, first brought by Spaniards to South America. Columbus brought peach trees on his second and third American voyages. The French brought them to Louisiana and the English to Jamestown and the first settlements in Massachusetts.
Both white and yellow peaches fall into two other categories — clings and freestones. The terms are self-explanatory: the flesh of cling varieties cling to the fruits’ pits, while freestones’ flesh is easily separated from the pits. The pits are also known as stones, as they are in other stone fruits such as cherries, apricots and plums. Nectarines are a variety of peach with smooth skin. Like their fuzzy counterparts, they can be white or yellowfleshed and cling or freestone.
White-fleshed peaches generally are less acidic and have a more delicate flavor with perfumey, floral overtones. Yellow-fleshed peaches have more acidity and a more pronounced taste. I don’t actually prefer one over the other; it just depends on what I’m doing with them. White peaches are, I think, best consumed pretty much as is. Slicing them, tossing them with a bit of sugar to bring out their juices and serving them over ice cream is about as complicated as I get with white peaches. The only exception is puréeing them for the famous Italian aperitivo, the Bellini (see next page).
Yellow peaches are also wonderful eaten simply, but their more assertive taste also lends itself to countless preparations both raw and cooked. Most fall into the dessert category, but they’re also used as accompaniments to savory dishes. Peaches are especially good with pork and cured pork products such as ham, proscuitto, or smoked pork chops.
Peaches pair well with blueberries and raspberries — not surprising, since they are in season at the same time. Peaches also have a natural affinity with almonds, to which they’re closely related (almonds are the |
