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Peaches
Our peaches are juicy and delicious. Not to mention they come in many varieties. Such as; yellow flesh white flesh, freestone and clingstone. Peaches are classified as drupes. Peaches are roundish with fuzz covering and yellow-red coloring and have a sweet and tangy taste the further into the peach you bite. Peaches contain Vitamin A,C Calcium, and Iron. They only have 68 calories and 2% sugar. The common cooking methods of a peach are in smoothies, fruit salads, or soaked in red wine. Three recipes using peaches are:
1. Grilled Peach Salad-
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
•3 medium yellow peaches
•3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
•3 Tbsp.red wine or sherry vinegar
•1/2 tsp. salt
•1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
•2 heads butter lettuce or 1 head romaine lettuce
•1/3 cup shelled pistachios
•6 strips crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
•2 green onions, sliced
Preparation:
1.Peel and pit one peach. Cut the epach into chunks and place them in a blender with the oil, vinegar, salt, and cayenne. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
2.Cut the two remaining peaches into 8 slices. Place on a well-oiled grill over medium-high heat and cook for a few minutes on each side to lightly char them.
3.Rinse and dry the lettuce. Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces. Place the lettuce in a large bowl along with the peach slices, pistachios, bacon, and green onion and toss with the dressing until well coated.
4.Pile high onto salad plates. Serve immediately.
Makes 6 servings Grilled Peach Salad.
2. Peach Pie-
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
•1 double-crust recipe or pre-made pie crusts
•3 lb. peaches
•1 Tbsp. to 1/3 cup brown sugar
•1 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
Preparation:
1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel and slice peaches. In a large bowl, toss peaches, sugar to taste, and tapioca. Set aside.
2.Roll out crust. Line pie plate with bottom crust, fill with peach mixture, cover with top crust. Crimp edges and cut slits in top crust to vent.
3.Put pie plate on a baking pan (to catch drips). Bake until well browned, about 1 hour. Let sit until room temperature, about 3 hours. Serve plain or with whipped cream or ice cream.
Makes 1 9-inch Peach Pie, about 8 servings.
3.Peach Cobbler Scones-
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold and cut into cubes (if you don’t have shortening you can certainly substitute unsalted butter)
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ripe peach, sliced thin
1/4 cup buttermilk, for burshing
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Use your hands to break the fat cutes into the dry ingredients. Some of the fat bits will be the size of peas and some fat bits will be the size of oat flakes. In another bowl, combine egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat lightly with a fork. Add the liquid to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. If the butter has warmed too much in the making of the dough, shape the batter into a dish, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. If the butter is still cool, shape the dough into a disk and, on a well floured surface, roll dough to a little less than 1/2-inch thickness. My dough was about 12-inches long and 10-inches tall. The dough will be rolled just thinner than a biscuit dough that you would cut biscuits from.
Brush half of the rolled out dough with buttermilk. Arrange peach slices, in a single layer, across the buttermilk moistened dough. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Carefully fold the empty side of dough over the peach sliced layer. Press gently together. Add a bit of flour to your hands and press the edges of the dough in, creating more of a rectangle shape than a half circle shape. Using a floured knife, slice dough into eight even pieces.
Place dough on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2-inches of room around each scone for spread while baking. If dough has warmed, and feels mushy, place in the fridge for 20 minutes to rechill. Remove from the fridge. Brush each scone top with buttermilk, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
Bake scones for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Scones are best served warm, on the day they’re made, with soft butter.
makes 8 scones
Historical facts about the peach are:
The peach originated in China and has been cultivated at least since 1000 B.C.E. It has special significance in Chinese culture: The peach tree is considered to be the tree of life and peaches are symbols of immortality and unity. Peach blossoms are carried by Chinese brides.
Peaches traveled west via the silk roads to Persia, earning them the botanical name Prunus persica. In Persia, peaches were discovered by Alexander the Great, who mentions half a dozen types, and who introduced them to the Greeks.
By 322 B.C.E. Greece enjoyed the peach, and by 50 to 20 B.C.E., Romans grew and sold them for the modern equivalent of $4.50. The Romans called the peach a Persian apple, and the name for peach in numerous languages is the name for Persia.* Once the Romans cultivated the fruit, they were able to transport it north and west to other countries of their European empire.
Spaniards brought peaches to South America and the French introduced them to Louisiana. The English took them to their Jamestown and Massachusetts colonies. Columbus brought peach trees to America on his second and third voyages.
To this day China remains the largest world producer of peaches, with Italy second. Italy is the main exporter of peaches in the European Union; the regions of Campania and Emilia Romagna account for more than 50% of Italy’s annual production. California produces more than 50% of the peaches in the United States (and grows 175 different varieties). So many peaches are grown in Georgia that it became known as the Peach State.
True wild peaches are only found in China. Unlike the cultivated fruit, the wild fruit is small, sour and very fuzzy.
Historical facts about the peach are:
The peach originated in China and has been cultivated at least since 1000 B.C.E. It has special significance in Chinese culture: The peach tree is considered to be the tree of life and peaches are symbols of immortality and unity. Peach blossoms are carried by Chinese brides.
Peaches traveled west via the silk roads to Persia, earning them the botanical name Prunus persica. In Persia, peaches were discovered by Alexander the Great, who mentions half a dozen types, and who introduced them to the Greeks.
By 322 B.C.E. Greece enjoyed the peach, and by 50 to 20 B.C.E., Romans grew and sold them for the modern equivalent of $4.50. The Romans called the peach a Persian apple, and the name for peach in numerous languages is the name for Persia.* Once the Romans cultivated the fruit, they were able to transport it north and west to other countries of their European empire.
Spaniards brought peaches to South America and the French introduced them to Louisiana. The English took them to their Jamestown and Massachusetts colonies. Columbus brought peach trees to America on his second and third voyages.
To this day China remains the largest world producer of peaches, with Italy second. Italy is the main exporter of peaches in the European Union; the regions of Campania and Emilia Romagna account for more than 50% of Italy’s annual production. California produces more than 50% of the peaches in the United States (and grows 175 different varieties). So many peaches are grown in Georgia that it became known as the Peach State.
True wild peaches are only found in China. Unlike the cultivated fruit, the wild fruit is small, sour and very fuzzy.