Summertime Is For Peaches
It has been said that peaches are as much a part of the American summer as are empty school yards and beach towels hung over porch railings.
The Spaniards brought the peach to America in the 16th century, about the same time that the Portuguese explorers carried the fruit to Brazil and South America. The early colonists cultivated the peach tree and dried or canned the harvested fruit.
The Latin botanical name for the peach is Prumus persica, meaning Persian plum. Alexander the Great’s armies first brought the peach back from the East, and the ancient Greeks and Romans thought they came from Persia. Actually, the peach originated in China, and were cultivated over 3,000 years ago near the present-day Chinese border with Pakistan.
Chinese silk traders introduced the peach into Persia, as well as perhaps what is now Russia, probably by dropping peach stones along the silk trade routes. They were introduced into Western Europe about the time of the birth of Christ and then brought to the New World a millennium and a half later.
In ancient China, the peach was symbolic of longevity and sexual mysticism. Actually, the Chinese word tao means peach and the fruit is linked to the Taoist philosophy. It was believed that nectar from peaches in Mother His Wang Mu’s garden was the god’s elixir of immortality.
The peach and its stone also symbolized female sexuality. For the Romans, the peach was the fruit of Venus and it was used as an aphrodisiac. The Egyptians made offerings of peaches to their god of tranquility. Throughout history and even today, the peach with a leaf attached has symbolized the union of heart and tongue, representing truth.
About two-thirds of the States in this country grow peaches today. The “Georgia peach” is a bit of misnomer, for about 75 percent of the peach crop is grown in California. South Carolina ranks second and the Georgia crop is only about 10 percent or less of the national harvest.
Almost half of the harvested peaches are sold fresh, 5 to 8 percent are frozen, 40 percent are canned and the remainder made into jelly, jam or brandy, with a small percentage of the crop dried. Refrigerated shipping makes transport feasible.
Most of the fresh peaches that are available in winter are imported from Chile and those in spring time come from Mexico. American grown fresh peaches are available from mid-summer to late fall at orchards, roadside stands, farmer’s markets and in supermarkets.
As far as productive fruit trees go, the peach is relatively short-lived, lasting no more than 15 to 20 years. In cultivation, its productive years may be less than ten. Early thinning of the peaches increases productivity.
A mature tree can produce about 650 peaches per year, usually all had gathered and harvested in about three pickings per season. Until they memorize coloring characteristics, peach pickers often have a color chart, similar to what one might use at a pain store, to assess ripeness and readiness for harvesting.
This coloring code for ripeness was developed by Clemson University. Adequately tree-ripened peaches are harvested about three to five months after blossoming.
Peaches have a relatively short shelf life, usually of two weeks or less. Unripened peaches ripen by emitting a gas, ethylene, and if picked too early they will never ripen.
Unripened peaches should not be stored in the refrigerator or they my never ripen, develop flavor, or produce juiciness. Ripening at room temperature can be hastened by storing them in a brown paper sack, which helps trap the ethylene.
A ripened fruit is yellow. The red color of some peaches is a function of light exposure and cultivar, and is not a good index of ripeness. Although self-fertilizing, backyard peach trees rarely flourish and generally do not yield anywhere near the fruit crop seen in cultivated orchards.
Peaches rapidly begin to develop several diseases about two weeks after picking. These include brown rot, grey mold, bacterial spots and other conditions of deterioration. Sometimes peaches are packed with fungicides to retard these disease conditions.
Nutritionally, peaches are close to nearly 90 percent water. They are about 10 percent carbohydrate by weight, with very little protein and negligible fat, delivering about 37 to 38 calories per peach. They have some vitamin A and vitamin C, and a little iron, but very little else by way of required micronutrients.
Peaches have been used medicinally for ages. Europeans use peach tree leaves and the Chinese use the bark, both of which contain benzaldehyde, to made a tea to treat morning sickness of early pregnancy.
The leaves, seeds, flowers and bark all contain amydalin and prunasia, sugar-compounds that can yield cyanide, a lethal poison in large doses.
Extracts have been used to treat cancer. The apricot seed, a “cousin” of sorts of peaches, yields higher amounts of cyanide, giving rise to the cancer drug, laetrite, which has, at best, a checkered history.
Peach bark has also been used to stimulate menstruation. It is a mild laxative and has been used, because of the antibiotic, phloretin, to treat bladder inflammation and urinary tract infections. Some countries have used essence of peach to flavor cigarettes.
For whatever reason you might like peaches it is now summertime and the best time to enjoy them in abundance.
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