Wednesday 29 September 2010

Just Peachy

Peaches are the last of our fruit crops to come in this year, since we don't have any grapes to speak of, and this year the white ones have been the star crop. The cherries were very good, but the white peaches, although small, were juicy and sweet and gave me lots of produce to store in the freezer at a time when the vegetable garden was barely able to produce a meal for us through lack of water.

I loved the delicious peachy scent that wafted from the trees when the fruit was warm from the sun. I could put it in a bucket and bring it home too.

I didn't do anything fancy to most of the peaches, not even bothering to peel them. I like the extra texture and the hint of bitterness you get from the skins. Mostly I just cut them in half, cut out any bad places, took out the stones and stewed them with a little water and sugar. They will be delicious with yoghurt for breakfast over the next twelve months.

One recipe I did make several times because we enjoyed it very much was Cobbler aux pêches épicées, found on La Vie Cevenole. Peaches won't be around for very much longer, so make it now!

Susan

PS For those of you interested in wildlife, I have added a butterfly species list to Loire Valley Nature. Dragonflies will be next, but don't hold your breath.

7 comments:

Tim said...

Susan,
Your peaches show the same bruising as our Newton Wonder apples.... Hail?

Unknown said...

I was just reading and day-dreaming (buckets? you clearly brought in way more than our meager harvest handful) when I was startled by the recipe. So glad you liked it enough to make it more than once! And it's ever so easy...

Are you not bedeviled by "cloque"? All the tips of the peach (and apple) trees curled so pitifully--as they did last year. I don't want to resort to a chemical solution...Any ideas?

Diogenes said...

The butterfly species list is facinating and most impressive. I particularly like the Brown Argus...

Diogenes said...

...should be "fascinating."

Susan said...

Tim: not hail. I think it is something like bitter pit, caused by the trees' inability to absorb calcium in dry weather. The marks are only superficial.

Tammy: Simon was dubious about combining ginger with peaches before he tasted, but we both liked it. I had to modify the recipe cooking time and temp for our mini oven (a bit less of both).

Our white peaches are remarkably disease free. We have 3 white and 2 yellow. The yellows don't thrive, but the whites do. I am heartened by the fact our neighbour has just planted some peaches, so they must do well in this spot I think.

Diogenes: A Brown Argus in good condition is a lovely little butterfly, isn't it?

Ken Broadhurst said...

The white peaches are called pêches des vignes, aren't they? They are pretty hardy. There are a lot of them all around our hamlet and the vineyard. Very sweet, too.

Tim said...

Susan, bitter pit is all over, not directional! And peaches do not suffer!

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