Peaches are perfect for pies, pizza, potables and more

Local peaches seem to have reached the market a little bit earlier than usual this year. Bennett Orchards had baskets of them available during the last week in June, and before another week goes by, you’ll find several growers across Sussex County offer visitors the opportunity to pick fruit right from the trees.

Although the Spanish brought peaches to the Americas over 500 years ago, Delaware has only been growing peaches commercially since 1820. At that time, the Chesapeake and Delaware canal was under construction, and a farmer in nearby Delaware City started selling his peach crop to the men working on the canal. He began to ship his crop to Baltimore once the canal opened to traffic.

Following his success in Maryland, he expanded his market to Philadelphia and into New York City. Watching the early peach industry thrive, other farmers began to plant orchards, and before long, the new railroad lines offered another path to deliver peaches to distant markets.

The mild climate and well-drained soil of our region were ideal for growing peaches, and the business expanded widely. In 1875, Delaware produced more peaches (shipping over 6 million bushels) than anywhere else in the country. Within 25 years, however, the peach industry collapsed as trees became infected with peach yellows.

The disease caused the fruit to ripen prematurely, growing in size and gaining early color, but with a bitter flavor. Farmers who had not diversified their crops went out of business, while others turned to strawberries and apples instead. Today, the Delaware peach harvest totals around 2 million pounds and includes more than a dozen different varieties.

If you plan to buy peaches at an upcoming farmers market, you can expect them to be fresh-picked, but maybe not quite ready to eat. Most of the growers know how quickly peaches will ripen off the tree, and many bring them to market before they soften.

When you get the fruits home, place them on a kitchen counter, stem side down, about an inch or two apart. Within a day or so, you’ll find them ready for your favorite recipe. If you need to hurry along the process, place a couple of peaches in a paper bag and fold down the top to seal it tightly; they’ll be perfect in a day.

Now, the challenging aspect of peach season – deciding what to do with all the beautiful fruit. For some recipes, like the peach pizza in the photo, you’ll want to peel off the skin. There are a few ways to do this: vegetable peeler, paring knife or by hand. I cut an X at the base of the peach and simply strip away the skin.

Another way (some say easier) is to cut the X and place the peaches in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds, then immediately into an ice bath. The slight blanching will begin to separate the skin from the flesh so you can readily tug if off. I always challenge myself to peel the entire peach by removing the skin in one single piece, but I have never succeeded, only come close once or twice.

Once peeled, you can pit each peach and get ready for your recipe or cut it into chunks to freeze for a morning smoothie. Slicing perfect arcs of peach flesh is a bit tricky because you have to work around the pit and any clinging threads that held it, so I prefer recipes that allow me to simply chop the fruit. I’ve included instructions on the pizza in the photo, an appetizer-course peach soup and a traditional peach cobbler. 

Peach Pizza

1 pkg pizza dough
1 T olive oil
3 peaches
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
6 oz shredded mozzarella
2 T Balsamic glaze
shredded basil

Preheat oven to 425 F. Spread the dough in a rimmed baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake for 5 minutes and remove from oven. Peel, pit and slice the peaches. When the dough has parbaked, sprinkle with goat cheese and mozzarella. Arrange peaches in a single layer over the cheese. Drizzle with 1 T Balsamic glaze; bake until cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Remove form oven, drizzle with remaining 1 T Balsamic glaze and sprinkle with basil. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Peach Soup

4 peaches
2/3 C water
1 C plain Greek yogurt
juice of 1 lime
2 T honey
1/2 t chili powder

Cut the peaches in half and remove pits. Cut peaches into rough slices. Place in the bowl of a blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Transfer to a glass container, cover tightly and refrigerate until completely chilled. Yield: 4 servings.

Peach Cobbler

4 C peeled, sliced peaches
1/4 C sugar
1/4 t salt
6 T butter
1 C flour
1 C sugar
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon 
3/4 C milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine peaches, sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium. Cook until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes; set aside. Cut butter into slices and place in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Set dish in the oven as it preheats to melt the butter. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Stir in milk just until blended and pour mixture into pan over melted butter. Scatter peaches along with any juice across the batter. Bake until golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Yield: 8 servings.