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EAT A PEACH How to choose peaches | Gourmet Peaches | Keeping | To Pit | Peach Pulp | Ever Ready Sliced An ancient Chinese proverb promises “Eat a peach and live forever.” In china the peach tree is still revered as “The Tree of Life.” Peaches supposedly have mystic powers to ensure life forever. At birthday celebrations many foods are shaped like a peach to symbolize longevity and immortality. If any dying man who had been foolish enough to ignore this wise old axiom ate a peach, he could keep his body from decaying. The Chinese, with all their revered wisdom, knew nothing of vitamins and minerals. Today’s scientific wisdom indicates the peach is indeed a package of life-sustaining vitamins and minerals! This Queen of Fruits, with only 46 calories, is fairly bursting with nutrients. Yet it is low in calories. With a fair amount of calcium…unusual for a fruit…fresh peaches also contain iron. They are richest of all fruits, except apricots, in Vitamin A, a good source of Vitamins B1, B2 and C. They are also ideal for people on low sodium diets…people with certain heart or kidney conditions, nephritis, edema and the like. Best of all, what could be more refreshing than a succulent juicy peach on a warm, soft summer’s day? What other fruit can be split so easily into perfect halves for out-of-hand eating? What other fruit is so versatile that it can be served sliced with cream, chunked into a salad, broiled, baked, poached, pickled, spiced, canned, frozen, pureed, distilled into a fine liqueur or wine, baked in a pie, cobbler or crisp, frozen into delicious Ice cream and made into nectar or juice? Here following are almost instant but glamorous ways to prepare this fruit from The Tree of Life. Browse through the pages as you stroll through the orchard and pluck the ones that suits your mood today. Look for peaches with a golden under glow in their color. Red cheeks are not the true clue to ripeness. Some varieties have rosier cheeks than others. Peaches with a dark green or chartreuse ground color will not ripen satisfactorily because they were not nature when picked. Firm peaches with a creamy or yellowish background will continue to ripen at room temperature. That’s why picking your own peaches at MLF is superior to any other method. You choose the ripeness you want and can taste them right from the tree. YUM. We offer you 1/2 bushel baskets, for full bushels would crush the peaches on the bottom. If you want to transport them home successfully, please bring along boxes that will support them, or gently place them one by one into the grocery bags we provide just a peck per bag for better transport. You can presort the peaches by ripeness allowing the firmer ones more time to ripen at home in the bag, and using up the juicy ones first. GOURMET’S CHOICE IN PEACHES is the white fleshed ones which you can find at MLF near the end of August and for an entire four week period. We have the White Hale beauties which require special handling, but give you the most amazing reward in flavor and bouquet. Peaches from our MLF market during the busy season have been pre-cooled in our hydro-cooler, so they are fuzzless. These are easier to eat without peeling making certain you get all the natural nutrition that is in the skin, too. PEACHES KEEP A WEEK when refrigerated as long as they have been procured unbruised. So pick or buy plenty for cooking and snacking, and come back often. A bushel of peaches will yield 18-24 quarts canned, or 36-48 pints frozen. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of sliced peaches, you’ll need 2 medium peaches; 2 cups, 3 peaches; 3 cups 4 peaches and so on. TO PIT PEACHES, run a sharp knife all the way around the peach on the crease line. Hold the peach between fingers of both hands. Twist and pull apart gently. It’s the slight twist that does the trick. And remember, it takes peach trees until August to produce freestone peaches that can be twisted off their seeds. Earlier varieties cling to their pits, and need to be cut slice by slice off the peach seed. That’s called the Magic Dice. Peel first, and slice from top to bottom into sections like an orange. Then make three cuts all around this golden globe and the pieces will fall off with a gentle squeeze. Same great flavor is yours, but just a little more work to get at it unless you just settle for eating it out of hand like an apple and think of the center as the core. I DON’T RECOMMEND SCALDING PEACHES TO PEEL THEM. After all the care it takes to grow a peach to perfection, and after all the trouble you’ve gone to to procure the best for your needs, why put yourself into jeopardy of being scalded and have to deal with hot water and hot peaches on a hot day? Simply use a sharp knife and pare the skins as thinly as possible, or better yet, use the skin when serving peaches. That’s where the most nutrition is anyway. I like to eat just the parings while I’m working on them for canning or baking. Here’s the easiest way to make fresh peach pulp or crushed peaches: · Peel and pit MLF peaches. · Cut peach chunks into a bowl. · Use a small can, like a soup can with both ends cut out as a masher. · Crush peaches as fine as you want. No trouble at all. EVER-READY SLICED FRESH PEACHES Keep a bowl of sliced MLF Fresh Peaches covered with orange juice in the refrigerator. Peaches stay color-0bright and pretty as they mingle with refreshing orange flavor. Drain and use on cereal, dessert, ice cream, salads, or for a brimming bowl of peaches ‘n’ cream. And for breakfast, serve the Fresh Peaches right into a bowl with the orange juice. Although newer peach varieties keep their bright color longer, to make certain you can use many methods to prepare them ahead and be certain to have great sliced peaches all the time: · Use 2 Tablespoons of instant lemonade or frozen lemonade concentrate to every 1/2 cup of water. Cover fresh sliced peaches completely with hit mixture. Cover bowl and refrigerate. When time to serve, pour off lemonade and sweeten peaches using about 1/4 cup or less sugar for every cup of peaches. Instant lemonade actually steps up color of fresh peaches. · Cover peaches with a mixture of 1/3 cup light corn syrup, 1/8 teaspoon fruit-freeze powder and 1/2 cup water. This brings up the flavor and color. · Peaches will keep their bright yellow for more than 4 hours this way: Mix 2 tablespoons honey, 1/8 teaspoon Fruit Fresh powder and 1/3 cup water. · Dissolve 2 heaping teaspoons of instant orange breakfast drink in about 2/3 cup water and pour over peaches. · If you plan to serve peaches in milk or cream, sweeten them and then add milk or cream right away. Then they’re set to serve. · For calorie counters and diabetics, use Fruit Fresh powders according to package directions. Dilute with a little water and add non-caloric sweetener. Pour over peaches, cover and refrigerate until time to serve.
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