Day 56: Local Peaches

You might be asking why I don't specify where my peach comes from or exactly what variety it is? Well, not really being a peach afficionado, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that it is local, and in season and the reasons are probably pretty obvious. When it's local, it can ripen right on the tree and so you get all those natural sugars crystallizing right on your tongue. When it's in season, it doesn't have the time to sit in the cooler and change its texture. Most of us are aware of the difference between vine-ripened tomatoes versus those which are picked early, and then allowed to ripen on the freight trains that ship them from central and latin America. The flavours are never remotely close to being as robust, and the texture is always too hard. This is even especially true for peaches and all other soft fruits.

I got these peaches from the farmer's market for $6 for about 20 peaches, but the price is approximately the same at the grocery store (I can bore you with the economics of it another time) and I could be wrong, but I think the two are fairly similar in terms of freshness and time to market. They are amazing at this time of year. The skin is soft and chewy, the flesh is bursting with juice, the colour is a vibrant orange mingled with red.

The real kicker, though, is the texture. Soft and mushy but also firm, fibrous, and juicy. As a sort of side note, when you really think about the benefit of eating fresh fruit, it's yes, about the flavour. But it's equally really about the texture. The texture, after being shipped from out of country, is either too hard (if it's put on the shelf early), or too dry. So for me, freshness really is about texture and that's pretty much the same for most foods. Except for a few food snobs, most people can't probably can't taste the difference between a frozen and a fresh fish other than that one has more flavour than the other. But the texture is immediately obvious to even to the simplest human being.

Also, to really enjoy it you have to be able to just tuck right into it. Take a knife, and cut a piece off right in your hand. Let it drip down your chin. Let it get sticky on your fingers. And you have to eat the skin right off the peach. The skin is one of the best parts. It's a primal activity, yes it absolutely utterly is. And when there's little soft mushy spots... yum, eat them... that's where all the sweetness is! Whenever I go to an South Asian restaurant and see people eat with their hands, I get so jealous because I have some stupid innate inhibition to eat anything wet and drippy in public. Food just, plain and simple, tastes way better when you dive in with your hands.

Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against a mango salsa . But picking at it with a silver fork, you really lose the essence of the mango. Give me a real mango that I can suck dry, right down to the seed and I would take that ANY day of the week. Growing up on a farm, I can attest that here in Canada, we get some of the best apples, peaches, pears, cherries, you name it, in the whole world.

So my advice is, if you could humour me, to right now, go to a farmer's market. Go to an orchard. Go to a supermarket. It doesn't matter, but when the peaches are as good as it is right now (AND as cheap), take advantage of it. Eat them with your hands. And make sure they are at room temperature - the texture and the flavour are way better than when they're cold. Bon appetit!

On the seasonality of Ontario peaches (from OntarioTenderFruit.com):

Semi-Freestone Peaches - available July 25 to mid August.

The flesh of the semi-freestone variety partially clings to the pit. These peaches are excellent for eating out-of-hand. Types of semi-freestone peaches include: Harrow Diamond, Springcrest, Candor, Harrow Dawn, Early Redhaven, Garnet Beauty, Risingstar, Brighton, Sunhaven, Harbelle and Sentinel.

Freestone Peaches - available August 15 to September 30.

The flesh of a freestone peach separates easily from the pit. Perfect for eating fresh and for all your preserving needs. Types of freestone peaches include: Redhaven, Vivid, Harbite, Harson, Blazingstar, Harrowfair, Starfire, Veeglo, Harrow Beauty, Loring, PF24, Allstar, Coralstar, Cresthaven, Redskin, Glowingstar and Harcrest.