| featured foods: |
| Avocados |
| Blueberries |
| Carrots |
| Cherries |
| Chile Peppers |
| Cruciferous Crops |
| Dates |
| Figs |
| Heirloom Vegetables |
| Kiwi |
| Peaches |
| Persimmons |
| Pomegranates |
| Roots |
What's Special
Peaches
What makes farmers’ market peaches so much juicier, sweeter, and peachier than grocery store peaches? What kind of magic creates that perfect-tasting peach? Some growers won’t reveal their secrets, but most agree that it starts with a good variety. According to Rebecca Torosian of Tory Farms, each peach has its own personality, and each taster has a different idea of what’s tastiest. Some people prefer the pure, low-acid sugariness of a white peach, while others live for the tart/sweet flavor of a classic yellow peach. There are a few old-fashioned varieties that everyone agrees are great—Steven Kashiwase of Kashiwase Farms likes the O’Henry because of its nice balance between acid and sugars—but delicious new varieties are emerging all the time.
In the grocery store distribution system, peaches are often picked early, before sugars are able to fully develop. A peach picked while still firm can better withstand long-distance shipping. Peaches imported from the Southern Hemisphere (such as those that appear in stores in the winter) can be in cold storage for four to six weeks. Ted Loewen of Blossom Bluff Orchards cites studies that show that after a certain period of time in refrigeration, a phenomenon called internal breakdown occurs in peaches. They get dry and mealy, or hard and leathery, or they can brown on the inside. These symptoms emerge during ripening after cold storage and usually aren’t detected until a consumer takes a very disappointing bite.