Have you been noticing an abundance of big ripe peaches at your local grocery store or Farmer’s market lately? That’s because August is National Peach month! There are so many ways to enjoy peaches—whether you just bite right in or bake them into a pie, you really can’t go wrong, including eating one on August 22nd, National “Eat a Peach” Day, or baking one (and eating one, of course) on August 24th, National Peach Pie Day!
Peaches come from… China?
While most people in America know that Georgia is “the Peach State,” peaches are actually native to China, and they’ve been cultivated for more than a thousand years – at least since 1000 B.C.E. It has special significance in Chinese culture: the peach has mystical attributes, and supposedly brings luck, abundance and protection. Chinese brides even carry peach blossoms for good luck on their wedding day.
True wild peaches are only found in China. Unlike the cultivated fruit, the wild fruit is small, sour and very fuzzy. There are over 700 varieties of peaches, and some Chinese varieties are even flat like hockey pucks. The Romans called the peaches “Persian Apples” naming them after the country that introduced peaches to the West. Spaniards brought peaches to South America and the French introduced them to Louisiana. The English took them to their Jamestown and Massachusetts colonies. Christopher Columbus actually carried peach trees during his second and third trip to America.
The Real Peach State
China is the number one producer of peaches in the world. Italy is second, California is third (yes, NOT Georgia). The United States provides about one-fourth (25%) of the world’s total supply of fresh peaches. Although Georgia is known as the Peach State, California produces more than 50% of the peaches in the United States (and grows 175 different varieties) with New Jersey and Pennsylvania placing 2nd and 3rd in production, respectively.
Peaches are Delicious AND Nutritious
Peaches are a good source of vitamins A, B and C and a medium peach contains only 37 calories. Like the plum and the apricot, the peach is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae), distinguished by its velvety skin. It is classified as a drupe, a fruit with a hard stone. You can buy two main varieties of peaches: clingstone and freestone. It is harder to remove the flesh from the pit on a clingstone peach. The flesh of a peach should have a slight give, but use your whole hand vs. fingertips to check. Peaches are at their peak from June to the end of August. But toss those pits! Each peach pit contains hydrocyanic acid – it’s poisonous!
Peachy Fun Fact
The world’s largest peach is in Gaffney, South Carolina. It weighs over 10,000 pounds. It’s the town’s water tower built in the shape of a peach in 1981.
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