President Ronald Reagan declared August as National Peach Month in 1982. Did you know that August 22nd is "Eat a Peach Day," and August 24th is "National Peach Pie Day?" Peach season begins in June and lasts until the end of August, and August is when peaches are at their peak. While Georgia is said to the be Peach State, peaches are an important crop in South Carolina as well, with some saying that South Carolina is the "Tastier Peach State." There are approximately 18,000 acres of peach orchards in South Carolina with more than 200 million pounds of peaches harvested in a typical year.
You can go out to a peach orchard and pick some peaches on your own, but many of us get our peaches from fruit stands or the grocery store. In season is always best! Learn more about growing, harvesting and packing peaches. It is a lot of work to have a peach orchard, between the pruning that goes on from late winter to early spring, and the thinning of the fruit to ensure a crop that will yield peaches that are large, as well as sweet.
From Tree to Table
There are many kinds of peaches and all of them have different attributes and some ripen earlier, others later. Additionally, some have pits that might be easier to remove, for instance, with cling peaches, the fruit is woven into the pit, whereas with those varieties said to be freestone, the pit is separated from the flesh. Semi-cling falls in between fruit where the flesh is attached but not wholly embedded into the pit. Peach Doctor, Dr. Desmond Layne, and Bob Schuster, field producer, Clemson Extension, partnered with Making It Grow, have brought ETV audiences Your Day - Everything About Peaches. The program shared a wealth of information about peach cultivars, including Summer Pearl, Glacier White, Biscoe, Cresthaven, Snowbright Peach, Sweet Scarlet Peach, and Ruby Prince, to try as well as suggestions for how to use the produce. For Clemson Extension Peach Recipes, see Side Notes.
Using Peaches
How to celebrate National Peach Month - eat a peach, attend a peach festival, start a cooking project with peaches! Whether you are canning, freezing, drying, baking a pie or a cobbler, or making something cooling, savory, or spicy, SCETV Foods has many ideas for you!
Desserts
Peach Cake with blackberry drizzle was a highlight at a McLeod Farms Peach Festival. Clemson Extension Agent and Host of Making It Grow Amanda McNulty learns some peach dessert recipes from Gaie McLeod of McLeod Farms in McBee, SC that include peach mousse. Adrianna Adarma from Fresh Tastes (PBS) shares a recipe for classic peach pie.
Salads and Savories
Gaie McLeod joins us at Making It Grow and shows us how to make Peach Enchiladas. On Backroads Bites, Chef Brandon Velie makes a Midlands Peach Gazpacho. On Go For It!, we join Devyn and Chef Brandon Velie as they grill up a savory peach dish straight from the orchard. From A Chef's Life (PBS), try summer salad with green beans, peaches and bacon. Adrianna Adarma from Fresh Tastes (PBS) offers Grilled Peaches with Burrata.
Side Notes
- Peaches - South Carolina Department of Agriculture - How Do I Select the Best Peaches?
- James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
- Old Fashioned Peach Ice Cream. Custard based as well as a no cook variety.
- Georgia Peach Homemade Ice Cream. AllRecipes. Recipe does not require cooking.
- Preserving Peaches: Canning, Freezing, Jam, Salsa. Home and Garden Information Center. Clemson Cooperative Extension.
- Jelly & Jam Recipes. Home and Garden Information Center. Clemson Cooperative Extension.
