Kennyz wrote:I wish I could say I've been as happy as everyone else with our local peaches, and this is the problem:

BR wrote:A rest of one to two nights on the kitchen counter and they're perfectly ripe, and as sweet and tart as a peach should be.

At Farmer's Markets I've been to in Ohio, NY, and Washington D.C., peaches come to market already ripe, having matured on the tree rather than the counter. Perhaps because yields here are lower, our local farmers bring them to market hard as a rock, fearful of losing too much of their precious product. I can't say they're wrong: at the Dupont Circle market I witnessed hundreds of peaches being tossed into the compost heap because they had been overly bruised or rotted. I can, however, say that our local method leads to inferior peaches.

I can't agree that the result is "inferior" peaches. Sure, if you want to eat them the very minute you purchase them you're going to be slightly disappointed, but otherwise I believe this method gives the consumer a lot of control over the degree of ripeness and a way to obtain the desired flavor (amount of sweet/sour) and texture. And as I mentioned, the peaches I've purchased this year have been absolutely perfect (after a brief rest on the counter).

"Unlike apples and pears, which easily ripen off the tree, peaches never improve in sugar content (or ripening ability) after harvest. Therefore, for greater flavor, allow peaches to ripen on the tree."...University of Missouri Extension Service

I currently live a few miles from the largest peach-growing area of the country in Fort Valley, GA and its environs. Previously I lived in NW IN and often ventured to MI or LaPorte, IN in search of the elusive "perfect fruit". I also grew them myself on dwarf stock until a Spring icestorm ruined the trees.

Tree-ripened peaches from both locales are excellent. If I'm buying at a store here in GA I test firmness (actually looking for "softer" fruit) and aroma. A ripe peach has that knockout aroma. If I'm buying at a farmstand the whole place is perfumed with peach perfume; the thing to watch for is overripeness.

IMHO, the peach eaten the same day is "king". Second day, a bit less "kingly".

BTW, the sniff test works great with canaloupe, too. GA produces a bunch of them next to the watermelon patches.

right - they get softer, not riper on the counter. That's not to say that our universally underripe local peaches are bad. They're pretty good, actually. They could, however, be significantly better.

Kennyz wrote:right - they get softer, not riper on the counter. That's not to say that our universally underripe local peaches are bad. They're pretty good, actually. They could, however, be significantly better.

Alright, so maybe the peaches I've tasted from the GCM can be better and slightly riper (although I have found them to be outstanding, and usually perfect with one night on the counter). I suggest trying some of the peaches from Hillside Orchards at the GCM, however, before you write them off as being merely okay. I've never had better peaches.

Hi,

I bought el-cheapo peaches from Jerry's Market last week, which were slightly tender to the touch. I mounded them in a bowl on the kitchen table. Two days later, they were ready to eat. They were great tasting, though where they were grown or their pedigree was unknown to us.

I have been to Lane's Peach Orchard in Georgia. There was signage on the wall advising what varieties were available on any date and estimates on those ripening later. I was there in early June, they had already been harvesting peaches for at least a month. They have so many varieties of peaches, they always have something ripening from May until September.

My only mistake when I bought a bushel was finding out whether these were cling-free or not. Sure enough, I bought cling that were a monumental pain in the butt to work with.

Royal Oak Farms around Hebron, Illinois has peach trees, which you may be able to u-pick.

For very local peaches on this side of the lake, we are burdened by late frosts. Peach blossoms early while we are still likely to have frosts. A reliable crop is very hit or miss. Most of Illinois' commercial peach orchards are in the southern part of the state. A few years ago, the entire harvest was downstate was destroyed by a late (for them) frost or snowstorm.

I called Von Bergen's in Hebron for Michigan peaches to learn they are $23 for a half bushel this year.

Regards,

Hi- There is at least one grower that comes to the Evanston market that sells ripe peaches really cheap, along with the ones that take a day or two to ripen. The ripe peaches are always $2 for a bucket, which is equivalent to 2 quarts. This is the same family that sells tons of raspberries there, and keeps some of their raspberry bushes under wraps, so they are able to pick raspberries until the end of market the first Saturday in November. Another possibility if you want peaches ready to eat today, is to pick your own. Most of the upick farms are in SW Michigan. As Cathy pointed out, it is too cold to grow peaches every year in the Chicago area. Ideally peaches do better if it only gets down to 10 below. The very Western part of Michigan is the only area in the state that successfully grows peaches. Lake Michigan stabilizes the temperature. On our farm, we have only froze out twice in my lifetime, and in both instances it was unusually warm for January, and then the following week, it got down to 20 below. In both instances, we only had a few peaches, but people 30 miles north of us and all the way up to Traverse City had a quarter of a crop of peaches.

Hope this helps, Nancy

We buy sweet corn from Stade's Farm & Market in McHenry. Last week I made a corn run and saw that they had large, lovely looking peaches. Inquiring, I learned that they are Red Haven peaches, a freestone from Eckert's Orchard near St. Louis. I bought a few and placed them on the counter with some of my second box of Georgia freestones. When both peach types were about the same softness, and both issuing compelling aroma, my wife and I performed a side-by-side taste test. Both were wonderful, and there were surprisingly noticeable differences. The peaches from down state were slightly more acidic and slightly al dente compared to those from Georgia. Side by side, we both picked the Georgia fruit as better representing our ideal peach, but only by a slight margin. Certainly the Red Havens are a superior peach, and tasted on it's own, I'd simply describe it as excellent.

I agree with others up post who have described this year as extraordinary. It's all so good!

I just checked with Stade's Farm and they have an abundance of Red Haven freestones. A 20-pound box sells for $30.

Stade's Farm and Market
3709 Miller Road
McHenry, IL
815-675-6396
http://www.stadesfarmandmarket.com/

Hi- WF carry's Eckerts peaches too. The farm is located in Belleville, which is right outside St. Louis. Supposedly they run a huge upick operation, and they do very well, because they have very little competition down there.

Red Haven is the most popular peach in the mid west, and it was developed in the 50's by a peach breeder at the farm Michigan State used to have near South Haven. All the peach varieties that have the name Haven were developed by the same breeder. Most peach varieties are compared to Red Haven as far as maturity goes. A peach variety might be identified as maturing 2 weeks after Red Haven.

Red Haven peaches should be available either this weekend, or the following weekend at the farmer's markets in the Chicago area. Red Haven peaches for a long time were considered the premier variety for freezing and canning, because of their excellent taste and the fact that the pit easily comes out when the peaches are ripe. My sister has a few new varieties that she bred, that are as good as red haven taste wise, and they produce very few #2 peaches.

BTW- I will not mention any names, but there are at least two sellers at the farmer's markets that I know of that call all of their peaches Red Haven. If you buy a bag of peaches labeled Red Haven in August, they probably are. If you buy a bag of peaches labeled Red Haven in September, they most likely are not. Last summer was an exception, because peaches were really late, and some of the growers at the Evanston market actually sold Red Haven in September. One year in September I got to the Evanston market late, and there was only one person there still selling peaches, and when I went to buy some, I noticed that the sign said that they were Red Haven. I knew that there was no way they could be Red Haven. When I bought my peaches, I asked what kind they were, and I was told Red Haven. I told the guy that no way could they be Red Haven, and the farmer heard me, and came over. I told him who I was, and he told me that those peaches were my sister's Fayettes.

Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- The varieties of peaches that are grown down South are different than the ones grown in Michigan. They do not have enough chill hours to grow red havens, or any of my sister's varieties in Georgia or South Carolina. All peach trees need at least some days in the winter time below freezing. That is why they don't grow peaches in Orlando. The varieties they grow down South need less time below freezing, Those varieties are also more susceptible to super cold weather in the wintertime.

I checked the site of the person selling Georgia peaches, and it sounds like he visits a lot of towns in Wisconsin, and so he probably goes through more peaches than my sister can provide him with. My sister is going to start picking Red Havens Saturday, and she only charges $20 for a half bushel basket at her fruit stand. There is approximately 25 pounds in a half bushel. That is a whole lot cheaper than the peaches from Georgia. She is also going to have upick Red Havens this weekend and the following weekend. Red Havens are wonderful for making jam and canning. They also make fantastic pies. Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote:... My sister is going to start picking Red Havens Saturday, and she only charges $20 for a half bushel basket at her fruit stand. There is approximately 25 pounds in a half bushel. That is a whole lot cheaper than the peaches from Georgia. She is also going to have upick Red Havens this weekend and the following weekend. Red Havens are wonderful for making jam and canning. They also make fantastic pies. Hope this helps, Nancy...

Nancy, thanks for the information! Could you post your sister's fruit stand information again? I am going to be in Michigan in mid-August and would like to pick up a supply of peaches for jam and pies.

Thanks, Jen

Hi- My sister's fruit stand is located right off of the Coloma exit, which is exit 39. Her upick is South of there. Her upick is open on Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm, and her fruit stand is open 7 days a week. She should still have Red Haven for another week and a half. She has other freestone varieties that she has bred herself. that are just as good as Red Haven taste wise. Here is a link to her farm. http://fruitacresfarms.com. I am going home to a family reunion this weekend, and will bring back some peaches. BTW-Next weekend the Glad Peach Festival is going to be taking place in downtown Coloma. It runs from 8/6-8/8. Hope this helps, Nancy

Thanks Nancy, that is super-- we will miss the Red Havens but should be able to get some peaches-- I need to get my peach pie pucks* laid in for the winter and if I can make some jam, so much the better.

Jen

*pre-made pie filling with juice macerated out and boiled down. Filling is frozen in a pie plate, thus "puck".

Hi,

The perfect peaches I used for eating out of hand or canning.

The dinged peaches are used for pie and jams. They are usually in such a condition where I go home to cook them immediately.

Regards,

Hi- My sister along with my cousin Paul Friday are the largest private peach breeders in the country. Yes, I am talking about the same Paul Friday that sells his Flamin Fury peaches at GCM while wearing a tophat. My sister sells most of her #2 peaches to the Amish in Indiana. 85% of the peaches she grows are ones she has bred herself. In her peach breeding program, she has found that she can breed peaches with very few defects such as split pits. As a result, I did not make any peach jam last summer, because she did not have a half bushel of #2's to give me. She does not even have enough #2 peaches to supply the needs of all the Amish ladies.

I used to be able to go to her packing house, and get all the peaches I wanted from the ones she was throwing away, and now there are not enough to do that. I would find peaches that were too ripe for her to sell, but were not rotten yet.

BTW- For anybody that wants to make jam, Pomona's Universal Pectin is wonderful. WF carries it, and I like it because you can make a large of a batch of jam as you want at one time. There is no minimum amount of sugar you have to add too. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- I should mention that my sister's peach breeding program is completely separate from my cousin's even though they live in the same neighborhood. My sister would prefer that you not mention her name if you talk to Paul at GCM. Thanks, Nancy

A special thanks to DRC1379 for the OP. This is what this site is all about to me. Finding new things you never knew before and then of course sharing that new found information with others and hoping they benefit as well

Visited the Tree Ripe Citrus http://tree-ripe.com/ truck on July 24th in East Dundee as this was close to my house and worked well with my schedule. The peaches were cold and it was a scorching hot and humid day. They cautioned everyone to dry the peaches to avoid brown spots as they might sweat on the long drive home. Since I was maybe 10 minutes from home, I got them into an air conditioned environment on thick kitchen towels and patted them down once in a while. 12 went into the fridge for the next weekend. The rest sat out of a few days to get a little softer. We ate peaches morning, noon and night. A majority were peeled, sliced and frozen.

I had all but given up on peaches. I love them, but what you can find in stores is not what I call a peach. It's a mealy, sawdust tasting creature. These peaches brought me back to my youth. Something you could bite into that screamed PEACH! at the top of it's lungs.

I have Tree Ripe on my radar for winter and next year will certainly be back. Now I cannot wait for the middle of January when we defrost a bag of frozen peaches and get blasted by a taste of summer that I once thought was gone forever.

Thanks again for the OP! If I had to pay for this site, this one would have made it totally worthwhile.

I bought a 1/2 bushel of Michigan peaches at Didier Farms in Libertyville today after the Lake County Fair for $26. It was the last one they had, but I'm sure there will be more. I peeled and sliced up any that were bruised to freeze for future pie or ice cream use; they're fantastic, they filled the room with peach smell.

I lucked out this week at, of all places, the Ridgeville farmer's market. I, like Kenny, notice that peaches aren't ripe; it's gotten to the point that I often don't buy them at all over the season (and last year, the best peaches I found were at Marketplace on Oakton, and were from Washington State.)

These were everything I ever wanted a peach to be. Slightly squashy in places, tear off the pit, sweet but with a hit of brightness, melt in your mouth. The smell at the stand was incredible (it is the best indicator I've found) like a perfume store. I bought two quarts (didn't pay attention to the price) and ate some as soon as I got home. I'd been craving peach pie, and had planned to use them in it...but it looks like they're all going to be eaten raw before I can even think about pies.

Neighbor Mike wrote:I have Tree Ripe on my radar for winter and next year will certainly be back.

Amen to that. I'll certainly be paying close attention to the Tree Ripe schedule for next year!

Pie-love wrote:I need to get my peach pie pucks* laid in for the winter
*pre-made pie filling with juice macerated out and boiled down. Filling is frozen in a pie plate, thus "puck".

Any chance you can point me to a recipe? I've seen Alton Brown do this with prefrozen blueberry pie filling, but my googling around yielded nothing specific for peaches. Is there anything about the recipe that's different than for the filling of a pie you plan to bake and eat right away?

Katie wrote:

Pie-love wrote:I need to get my peach pie pucks* laid in for the winter
*pre-made pie filling with juice macerated out and boiled down. Filling is frozen in a pie plate, thus "puck".

Any chance you can point me to a recipe? I've seen Alton Brown do this with prefrozen blueberry pie filling, but my googling around yielded nothing specific for peaches. Is there anything about the recipe that's different than for the filling of a pie you plan to bake and eat right away?

It's from this recipe, originally in Fine Cooking:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/latt ... h-pie.aspx

But the gist is simple-- take your favorite peach pie recipe. Mix the peaches and sugar and let them sit for about an hour. Drain off the juice and boil it down to a syrup. Mix the thickener (cornstarch) with the peaches, then stir in the syrup-- it may crystallize, don't worry. Then either put it into a pie shell and bake, or put it in a gallon freezer bag, then nest into a pie plate to give it form, and freeze.

Jen

Thanks, Jen!

Pie-love wrote:

Katie wrote:

Pie-love wrote:I need to get my peach pie pucks* laid in for the winter
*pre-made pie filling with juice macerated out and boiled down. Filling is frozen in a pie plate, thus "puck".

Any chance you can point me to a recipe? I've seen Alton Brown do this with prefrozen blueberry pie filling, but my googling around yielded nothing specific for peaches. Is there anything about the recipe that's different than for the filling of a pie you plan to bake and eat right away?

It's from this recipe, originally in Fine Cooking:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/latt ... h-pie.aspx

But the gist is simple-- take your favorite peach pie recipe. Mix the peaches and sugar and let them sit for about an hour. Drain off the juice and boil it down to a syrup. Mix the thickener (cornstarch) with the peaches, then stir in the syrup-- it may crystallize, don't worry. Then either put it into a pie shell and bake, or put it in a gallon freezer bag, then nest into a pie plate to give it form, and freeze.

Jen

Do this all the time with apples (I don't usually make syrup for them, though) and never had a name for it until now!

Hi- I went home this weekend to a family reunion, and I asked my sister about #2 peaches. She has #2 peaches for sale for $15 a bushel she said. What she probably meant was that they were $15 a crate minus the crate. She does not sell the #2 peaches at the fruit stand. You have to go to her packing house, which is a mile South of her fruit stand, which is located at exit #39, which is the Coloma exit.

If you want to buy #2 peaches, you have to buy a minimum of 1 bushel, and she said that people usually buy more than that, and some people buy 5 bushels. She just started picking red haven peaches, and next weekend she should have the best peaches for freezing and canning. Next weekend will be the last weekend for upick red havens, although the rest of the month, she will have some of her own varieties such as blushing star and all star which are also freestone and are very good. Blushing star is a white flesh peach.

BTW- The blueberries are about done for the year, and she had samples out of the blueberries she had for sale, and they were not as good as what I have been getting at the Evanston market. She said it is because they are picking the late varieties, which do not taste as good as the earlier varieties. Hope this helps, Nancy

BR wrote: I suggest trying some of the peaches from Hillside Orchards at the GCM, however, before you write them off as being merely okay. I've never had better peaches.

Hillside, like some other vendors, actually sells ripe peaches, aka "seconds", for about half the price of unripe peaches - which proves that free markets lead to screwy outcomes. Anyway, I bought some and they were OK. I suspect that they were not actually tree ripened - perhaps just leftover from the prior market a few days earlier. Turned 'em into a perfectly decent peach sorbet.

I'm presently in the so called Greenbelt of Ontario where tree ripened peaches are abundant and the annual Peach Festival is going to take place next weekend. Those Georgia peaches really spoiled me because while everyone around here is as excited as a fruitfly, I find the peaches kind of ho hum.

Kennyz wrote:

BR wrote: I suggest trying some of the peaches from Hillside Orchards at the GCM, however, before you write them off as being merely okay. I've never had better peaches.

Hillside, like some other vendors, actually sells ripe peaches, aka "seconds", for about half the price of unripe peaches - which proves that free markets lead to screwy outcomes. Anyway, I bought some and they were OK. I suspect that they were not actually tree ripened - perhaps just leftover from the prior market a few days earlier. Turned 'em into a perfectly decent peach sorbet.

I know they offer the seconds at a discount, but I've always stuck with their full priced peaches.

Thanks to LTH our family got hooked on tree-ripe peaches last year and now that the 2011 schedule is out I'm BUMMED
we are going to out of town when they are in CL on July 9th!!!
here's the link to the 2011 season for peaches
http://www.tree-ripe.com/locations2011.html
looks like I might have to head to Janesville, WI on the 26th (or there abouts...) if I'm going to get any peaches this year...

Mel, from the webite, they're in East Dundee on the 16th. I'm sure that's closer to you than Janesville.

Thanks Mark but we don't return from our vacation until long after the truck pulls away..