Starters
T
HIS FAVOURED FRUIT of kings and emperors, this cousin to the cherry and the plum in the family Rosaceae, is native to Asia – China, where they’ve been
growing them since 2000 BC, remains the world’s biggest producer – but was cultivated in Persia before arriving on European shores, at the time of Alexander the Great. (The name comes, in a roundabout way, from mistaken Euro-beliefs about their origins – the Romans called them ‘Persian apples’.) But it took until the 17th century before
the peach was common in England and France, where it was considered a great delicacy. They’re not that easy to grow, trees being pretty specific in their temperature requirements if they’re to produce good fruit, and the shelf life is short – so it’s slightly amazing that sheltered, sunny spots in southern England grow peach trees quite as happily as they do.
THE PEACH IS actually the same basic fruit as the smaller, sweeter nectarine (or ‘shaved peach’): peaches are just fuzzier, that’s all, and with paler insides. There are two basic types – freestones and clingstones, defined by how closely the flesh grasps the pit. Really sweet peaches with white flesh have long been more popular in Asia, while the tangy yellow ones find favour in the West. Picking your fruit, you want it as smooth and bright as you can get, with a soft velvety skin – if you see any green, or blemishes, reject it; do the same with hard or wrinkled fruit. You know it’s good if you make a mess chowing down, peach juice cascading over chin and arms. Peaches react badly to being kept in the
fridge (the flesh goes a little powdery) but there are remarkably few foods they don’t agree with. They go well with many meats, duck and pork particularly – try a peach salsa with pork belly or goat’s cheese, scallops or salty ham – while peach jam is a classic. And then there are the cocktails: Daiquiris, Juleps and Mojitos. Puréed peach makes the classic Bellini one of the most summery of tipples, but it works equally well in an icy sorbet, too. Of course, the peach’s natural home is the pudding trolly: there’s peach melba
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and peach paradise pudding, while all sorts of effective concoctions team them with apricots or figs, pears or raspberries, hazelnuts, blueberries or raisins. There are cakes and crumbles, pies and tarts, but caramelising peaches on a grill is another way to go, and they love to be poached in wine. Their sweetness responds well to something rich too: a little honey, say, or whipped cream.
CULTURALLY, FEW FRUIT are weighed down with such significance and innuendo. In Chinese myth, eating the Peaches of Immortality guaranteed a long and healthy life, while peach wood wands were used by sorcerers and local dignitaries alike to ward off evil spirits. All the great European artists – from
Monet to Van Gogh – painted peaches at some point or other, and their use often heaves with symbolism. A healthy peach might stand for ripeness, while a worm- chewed fruit – such as Caravaggio’s – add a note of corruption or unexpected realism. And a peach cut in half, its secret centre revealed, is almost pornographically daring, suggesting – but ah! Perhaps we go too far. Peach is a colour (great for bedroom walls
and bridesmaids’ dresses) and a term of approval – certainly, if something’s a ‘peach’ it’s well worth having. Ridiculously oversized peaches are a
nursery-story staple too, from the legendary Japanese adventures of Momotaro (or ‘Peach Boy’), who was born within a giant floating peach, to Roald Dahl’s famous monster version, skewered on the point of the Empire State Building. Curvy and lightly downed, the fruit’s long
been associated with fairer sex – from songs by the Stranglers to video game heroine Princess Peach. And when J. Alfred Prufrock famously asks “do I dare to eat a peach?” there’s all sorts going on. A worry about people looking at him, sure; fear of the stone cracking his ageing teeth, perhaps. But a degree of lechery too, we’re pretty certain. After all, like those hidden delights
the half-peach has so often been a veiled reference for, nobody likes to think of the day we lose all interest in the things…
9
CHEAT’S PEACH
COBBLER (SERVES 2)
INGREDIENTS 2-3 ripe peaches
2 balls stem ginger (and some of the steeping syrup)
juice of 1/2 a lime
250g full-fat Greek yoghurt handful of amaretti biscuits
METHOD
– Score a cross into each peach and blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds. Refresh in a bowl of ice water until cool and slip off their furry skins.
– Destone and roughly chop the skinned peaches and stir together with 1-2 tbsp of the
stem ginger syrup and the lime juice. Distribute between two serving glasses.
– Finely chop the stem ginger and stir through the Greek yoghurt. Carefully layer on top of the peaches.
– Roughly crush the amaretti biscuits and sprinkle over the top. Serve immediately.
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