I love this time of year, even though I can say with certainty that I am over the heat and humidity! This is the season when our farmers shine. If you’re like me, you have a favorite source for your favorite summer treat, and no substitute will do. For me, it’s peaches from a thriving little produce stand on Salem Church Road.
DJs Berry Patch & Farm is popular for their pick-your-own strawberries every spring, but I love them for their peaches. I’ve been a faithful customer since they opened more than a decade ago, and I have never had a single peach that was not sweet, juicy, and simply perfect. Occasionally, in a low “why make two stops” moment, I’ve bought peaches from the grocery store, but the result has always been mealy fruit that ended up in the compost bin.
I asked Jessica Jones, owner of DJs Berry Patch & Farm, what makes for the perfect peach and she was happy to share. “The farmer that we get them from, his farm is on the North Carolina-South Carolina border. They pick them, get them on a truck, and they head up this way. We’re getting them within the next day or two of being picked. The ones for the grocery store get frozen and then they try to thaw them out. That’s what makes them mealy. It makes a big difference.” I couldn’t agree more!
Peach growing season is typically June through August, although Jones pointed out that bad weather and other factors can shorten or lengthen the season. (Last year, I was still ripening peaches on my kitchen counter over Labor Day weekend.) The first peaches to emerge are “clingstone,” meaning you just have to work a little harder to free the fruit from the pit. As the summer progresses, the “freestone” peaches are plentiful. A cut around the circumference and one gentle twist are all that’s needed.
Need to ripen a peach faster than Mother Nature? Jones’ advice is to bag it! “If you get a peach and it’s really hard, put it in a paper bag and it ripens up really fast. We know which customers are repeat customers because they’ll ask for a paper bag. [At home], put whichever ones you want in the paper bag, but wipe them off because sometimes they have condensation from being in the cooler. We don’t want to ripen them all at one time, so we keep some cool before putting them out.”
The good news here is that if you have too many ripe peaches all at once, it’s safe to put them in the refrigerator to keep them from over-ripening. They will still be delicious!
This is prime time for peaches! Enjoy them sliced in a bowl, in a fruit salad, as homemade jam, in a smoothie, mixed with overnight oats, over ice cream, in a cobbler or crisp, drizzled with cream, atop waffles or with a piece of cake, or just the old-fashioned way with the juice dripping from your chin and rolling down your arm.
And if you hate the thought of winter without this tasty treat, just wait patiently because next June, they’ll be back. And so will I!
Visit DJs Berry Patch & Farm for all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables and, coming soon, their beautiful, bountiful pumpkins and mums. Check out djsberrypatch.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
Peach Cobbler
Courtesy of Jessica Jones and her mother
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
6-8 peaches, peeled
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the sugar, butter, and flour until it becomes crumbles. Set aside. Slice peaches into the bottom of a baking dish. Pour the crumbles over the top and bake for 30 minutes or until cobbler is brown and bubbly. Adjust baking time depending on whether you like the crumble topping soft or crunchy.
