Peachy KEEN
Season is here for the fresh fruit with a furry skin
You can feel the ever-so-slightest tickle of fuzz on your lips. The fruit is plump, fragrant and just begging to be eaten. You lean over the sink and brace yourself for the sweet trickle of juice about to run down your chin, your hand and your arm. Your teeth pierce the velvety flesh and your heart sinks. Ack! Blech! The peach is mealy.
Peaches, like tomatoes, are temperature sensitive. Refrigerating unripened peaches results in a mealy texture — cold storage disrupts the ripening process — which is why you’re more likely to get a mealy peach from the grocery store than the farmers market.
Ripe, ready to eat peaches may be refrigerated, but temperatures below 45 degrees should be avoided. According to David Joachim and Andrew Schloss in The Science of Good
Food it has to do with the pectin in the fruit’s cell walls. As peaches and nectarines (the peach’s smooth-skinned cousin) ripen the pectin transforms and the fruit softens. Prolonged low temperatures interfere with this transformation.
The best way to avoid this disappointment is to always buy peaches from the grower or your locally grown farmers market and to never, ever refrigerate them, as home refrigerators should be set at 40 degrees or below.
When selecting fresh peaches, follow your nose. It won’t taste like a peach unless it smells like a peach. Firm is OK, but rock hard is not. To get firm peach
es ready to eat, let them sit at room temperature for a few days. You can speed up the process slightly by placing them in a paper bag and loosely folding the top.
Perfectly ripe peaches are yielding to the touch — softer than a tennis ball, but not squishy — and have a heady, peachy aroma. Skin color is not necessarily an indication of ripeness — only the side of the peach receiving sunlight develops a red blush — but avoid peaches that have a green tinge.
According to the Central Arkansas Library System Encyclopedia of Arkansas (encyclopediaofarkansas.net), peaches were introduced to the state after the Civil War, as part of the “New South” diversification movement. The early crops were the Elberta variety — a cultivar developed in Georgia that could withstand shipping — with a short season of just a few weeks.
Today, Arkansas peach orchards are producing fruits from June through August thanks to varieties such as Redhaven, Fire Prince, Flaming Fury, Big George and Cresthaven.
Nectarines and peaches can be used interchangeably. Nectarines are essentially hairless peaches, the result of a recessive gene.
Peaches are well suited for sweet and savory preparations; however, a peach’s flavor changes considerably the longer it is cooked.
Peach cobbler tends to fall into two camps: cake-y and flake-y. The latter being made with pie crust and the former with cake batter, biscuit or dumpling dough.
Both are delicious and deserve a place on summer menus.
Peach Cobbler
3 tablespoons butter, divided use
4 peaches, about 1 ¼ pounds, pitted and sliced (no need to peel)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon vanilla powder OR ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 ½ cups baking mix such as Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in an oven-safe skillet (such as an 8-inch cast-iron skillet).
Meanwhile, toss the peaches with the cinnamon, vanilla and brown sugar.
In a small bowl, stir together the baking mix, milk and sugar.
Swirl the melted butter to coat skillet. Add peach mixture. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into cubes. Dot peach mixture with cubed butter. Pour batter over peaches. Place skillet on a baking sheet (to catch drips) and bake about 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes about 6 servings.
This recipe requires just five ingredients: flour, butter, salt, sugar and peaches.
As Edna Lewis wrote in In Pursuit of Flavor, “all you really want to taste are sweet, fresh peaches — nothing else — so use the sweetest fruit you can find.” And resist the urge to tweak the recipe. Don’t add lemon or cinnamon or almond extract. Just let the peaches (and all that glorious butter) shine.
Edna Lewis’ Fresh Peach Cobbler
For the crust:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Scant teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons firmly chilled or frozen butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup ice water
For the filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
7 large peaches
12 tablespoons butter, cut into thin slices
To make the pastry: Combine the flour, salt and butter in a mixing bowl. Blend well with a pastry blender or your fingers, until the mixture is the texture of cornmeal. Add the ice water and mix quickly. Shape dough into a ball, then flatten into a disc. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 2 portions.
Roll out one portion and press into a deep 8-inch pie dish. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and refrigerate.
Roll the remaining dough and cut into 8 strips. Lay the strips between wax paper and refrigerate.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Peel and slice the peaches. Sprinkle half of the remaining sugar over the pie crust and lay the peaches in the pie plate. Mound the last few slices in the center. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Dot (shingle, really) with thin slices of butter.
Weave the strips of pastry over the fruit, four going one way and four going the other. Moisten the rim and the crust with water and press strips down to seal.
Set cobbler on a rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake 35 minutes more. Let the cobbler cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Makes 1 cobbler.
Recipe adapted from In Pursuit of Flavor by Edna Lewis
July is a magical time in Arkansas. Peach and tomato season overlap, opening a window for the absolute best caprese. Classic caprese with ripe summer tomatoes, creamy mozzarella and fresh basil is delicious, but add perfectly ripe peaches and this salad becomes divine.
Peach Caprese
2 peaches, pitted and sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 to 2 handfuls cherry tomatoes, halved
4 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced OR in small balls
½ ounce fresh basil leaves Salt and ground black pepper Fruity olive oil, for drizzling Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
On a large platter, arrange peaches, tomatoes and cheese. Scatter fresh basil leaves over top. Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Makes 4 servings.
Pork Chops With Peach and Roasted Corn Salsa
2 bone-in pork chops Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter, divided use
1 to 1 ½ cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 peaches, pitted and diced
¼ small red onion, diced
2 green onions, sliced Juice of 1 lime Flat-leaf parsley
Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper; set aside.
In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter until foamy. Add corn and jalapeno and cook until corn is lightly browned. Transfer corn to a bowl to cool.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add pork chops and cook 1 to 2 minutes, then turn and cook on second side, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue cooking, and turning, every 1 to 2 minutes until pork reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and turn pork to coat in melted butter. Remove skillet from heat; cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
While pork is resting, combine the cooled corn-jalapeno mixture with the peaches, red onion, green onion, lime juice and parsley. Taste and season as needed with salt, pepper and additional lime juice.
Serve salsa over pork. Makes 2 servings.
This dessert was inspired by a post I saw on Instagram by Evgenia Levi. It combines puff pastry with honey-whipped mascarpone cream and fresh peaches.
Peaches and Mascarpone Puffs
½ (17-ounce) package frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (8-ounce) tub mascarpone
2 tablespoon honey, plus more for drizzling
¼ cup heavy cream
2 to 3 peaches, sliced
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ lemon, juiced Sliced almonds, optional garnish
Fresh mint or thyme leaves, optional garnish
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, unfold the thawed pastry sheet. Use a rolling pin to smooth and flatten creases. Using a 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut pastry into 8 to 10 rounds. Prick each round in several places with the tines of a fork. Place the pastry rounds on the baking sheet. Brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the mascarpone, honey and heavy cream with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
In a medium bowl, combine the sliced peaches, vanilla and lemon juice.
To assemble: Spoon a mound of whipped mascarpone into the center of each pastry, top with sliced peaches. If desired, sprinkle with almonds and herbs and drizzle with honey.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
A bellini is mimosa’s Italian cousin. The classic sparkling cocktail combines fresh white peach puree and Prosecco. Numerous variations exist that vary in complexity.
This one is quite simple — muddle fresh peaches with honey and top with Prosecco. The result is a bit like a cross between a bellini and sangria.
Grandma’s Bellini
1 peach, pitted and chopped, peeled if desired
2 teaspoons honey, or to taste
1 (750-mL) bottle Prosecco or other sparkling wine, well chilled
Muddle peaches with honey to taste. Divide among four Champagne flutes and top with Prosecco.
Makes 4 drinks.
Recipe adapted from Soul Food Love by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams
If you prefer a smoother sip, this one uses peach puree.
Bellini
2 ripe peaches, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
1 (750-mL) bottle Prosecco or other sparkling wine, well chilled
Combine the peaches, lemon juice, and sugar in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Press the mixture through a sieve and discard the peach solids.
Pour about 2 tablespoons puree into each Champagne flute and top with Prosecco.
Makes about 4 servings.