Just Peachy: Peach Recipes

Alright! It’s my fault. I should have been “on the ball” when I saw peaches advertised at the store. I could have sent this out earlier to meet your peach recipe need. But, alas… I did not. Today, though, I am thinking about it, and isn’t that “just peachy”. Stay tuned for some peach recipes for the pile of peaches you bought.

Peaches are August’s favorite fruit. Lots of folks can’t wait to sink their teeth into a sweet ripe peach. I think the most fun is biting into a peach and letting the juice drip down. Georgia is known as the “Peach State” but South Carolina and California are the top peach producers.

Interestingly enough, peaches are still hand-picked. Once picked they are sent through a hydro-cooler, which is an ice-water bath. The ice-water bath prevents the fruit from ripening further. From there it goes into a “de-fuzzer” to remove all the fuzz. Each peach is sorted for size and blemished peaches are culled. Peaches make it from the tree to your local store in three days!

The average peach tree lives for twelve years and annually produces 66 pounds of fruit. Peaches were originally found in China, but we can thank the English settlers who brought the peach tree over on their second and third trips to America. Peaches are either “freestone” or “clingstone”. Meaning they either freely release the pit or the peach pit clings to the fruit.

Recipes to enjoy

Gather around friends. I have to be honest and say overwhelming, in most cookbooks, there is NOT a lot of recipes for peaches. Many recipes for apples (like a ton of recipes), pumpkin, and cherry, but the ole peach, like the cheese in the song “The Farmer in the Dell”, the cheese, or peach, in this case, stands alone.

Peach Jam- Kerr Home Canning Book, 1943

Cut well-ripened peaches into small pieces. Put into a large kettle without the addition of water. Cook slowly for about 20 minutes or until peaches are slightly softened. Measure peach pulp and for each cup of peaches add 1 cup of sugar. Return to fire and cook until of desired consistency. Pour into sterilized KERR Jars and seal while hot.

This next recipe comes to us via an un-named cookbook because somehow I lost the cover and the first 22 pages of the book. But I do know it was from Iowa, it has a light blue back cover. I’m thinking it was from a church group in Sheldon, Iowa, typed out on ye ole typewriter … that’s all I got friends.

Peach Coffee Cake- from the kitchen of Mrs. Wes Elgersma

Ingredients

• 2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 Tablespoons oil
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 tsp. lemon flavoring
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 c. flour

Directions

Mix. Arrange 2 cups peaches on top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes. This is a large recipe. Put in a cake pan.

– Mrs. Elgersma sounds like she didn’t mess around with her baking. In almost military fashion you had better mix, arrange and bake! And side-note- it’s large use a cake pan. I got a good chuckle… I like recipe writers that are bossy.

Fresh Peach Pie- from the “Recipes, Remedies and Hints”, circa 1982

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup fresh mashed peaches
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon butter

Cook these four ingredients over low heat till thick and clear. Pour over peaches that have been sliced into a baked pie crust. Put in refrigerator several hours before serving. Top with whipped cream. Can use graham cracker crust.

Peach Sauce- Michele Bruxvoort

Ingredients

• 10 peaches, skinned. You can either cold skin them and remove the pit or score each peach, drop them into a boiling water dip for 30 seconds, followed by a 10- second ice water bath, and then skin and remove the pit.
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice- I prefer fresh- squeezed, but if you don’t have fresh lemons use 1 tablespoon lemon juice concentrate. The lemon juice prevents your peach sauce from discoloring.
• 1/4 cup sugar- I don’t like to sugar up my sauce. I like to have it as natural as possible. I suggest tasting your peaches first and decide. If they are a bit tart, then add a bit more sugar as you see fit.

Directions

Cut up your skinned peaches. Taking a large tall pot, fill the bottom with a little bit of water, add the cut peaches and bring them to a simmer over medium heat and cook them for 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally so they don’t burn to the bottom. Once cooked add them to your blender, or use an immersion blender and blend till smooth. Return the peach puree to the cooking pot and add the lemon juice and sugar. Reheat till the sugar dissolves, this will take approximately 10 minutes. After thoroughly reheating your peach puree, I pour into canning jars, seal, and process.

Friends! I ran out of space, but not peach recipes… so see you next week with some more peach recipes! Till then. Here is to good food, good friends and a good life.