FARMER IN THE FIELD Just Peachy!
by Bonnie Swank
SwankFarms.com
T
oday I overheard a conversation Dick was having with the pastry chef at Carmel Valley Ranch who was requesting peach leaves. Suggesting cherry leaves, she quickly said only the peach leaves would do for her creation and she needed a lot. What could she be making, I won- dered. Fresh peaches are such a won- derful summertime treat, but eating the leaves, this made me curious. Searching the Internet for clues I only found one recipe for peach leaf liqueur and little else but it did get me craving a ripe, warm, juicy peach picked right from the tree.
Unfortunately most of us don’t have a peach tree growing in our back yard but you won’t have a hard time finding good peaches in California. Did you know that 65% of the peaches grown in the United States for commercial production are grown in California? Did you also know there are
over three hundred varieties of peach- es? That’s a lot but all you really need to know about a peach is whether it’s yellow or white flesh and clingstone, freestone, or semi-freestone.
CLINGSTONE PEACHES
Clingstone peaches have flesh that clings to their pits. They are softer, sweeter and juicier than freestone peaches and hence sought after for canning and preserving (commercially canned peaches are all clingstones). They are great for baking. One advan- tage of shopping for peaches at farmers markets is that you can sometimes find clingstones. Most grocery stores only carry freestones.
The clingstone peach season ranges from May to August.
FREESTONE PEACHES
Freestones peaches’ flesh does not stick to their pits, so they are preferred for eating out-of-hand. They tend to be larger and less juicy than clingstones. They bake and preserve well, too. Freestone peaches come in many varieties with seasons ranging from May to October.
SEMI-FREESTONE PEACHES A hybrid of clingstone and free- stones that attempts to combine the easy eating and pitting properties of freestones with the juicy sweetness of clingstones.
~ Bonnie and her husband Dick Swank are owners of Swank Farms in Hollister. To learn more visit
SwankFarms.com or contact them at: 831-637-4704.
8 July 2011 • Out & About
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