| PEACHES |
The peach belongs to the Prunoideae subfamily of the Rosaceae with other species collectively referred to as "stone fruits". The subgenus Amygdalus contains the commercially important peach and almond. The Latin name for peach means "Persian plum" because the Romans imported it from Persia (now Iran) some 2,000 years ago.
Peaches and nectarines are produced commercially in 71 countries worldwide on about 3.5 million acres. China produces about 44% of the world’s peaches, followed by Italy (13%), the United States (10%) then Spain and Greece. In 2004, the US produced about 3.1 billion pounds. The total value of the industry is about $550 million. Peaches and nectarines are produced commercially in 29 states on about 114,000 acres. There are thousands of peach cultivars worldwide, and far more are cultivated in economic quantities than for many other tree fruits. Cultivars fall into one of three major groups: Nectarines - while labeled and marketed differently from peaches, nectarines are simply fuzz-less peaches and are sold almost exclusively to the fresh market. Nectarines are a bit more likely to be affected by diseases such as brown rot and bacterial spot. Many nectarine varieties have a spicy "zing" to their taste. The nectarine is thought to have originated as a mutant of the peach. The adherence of the flesh to the stone per se doesn't affect canning quality, but firm flesh texture is linked to the clingstone trait, so clingstones are used for canning. Clingstones also retain shape better, and have brighter color and clearer juice than freestone when canned. White-fleshed cultivars are popular in the Orient, but yellow flesh cultivars are preferred in the USA. However, more interest in white-fleshed peaches and nectarines has arisen in the last 5-10 years.
Nutritional benefit The common peach isn’t often commended for its many nutritional attributes. A surprising fact to note is that a medium peach packs a powerful 465 IU of vitamin A to combat the effects of aging. Further benefits of a medium peach include B vitamins, 3 mcg of folic acid, 5.7 mg of vitamin C, 4.35 mg of calcium, 1.4 grams of fiber, 171 mg of potassium, and a little zinc. Their beta carotene also helps build a strong immune system to prevent damage from free radicals, and to avert many skin diseases. Beta carotene is a provitamin that the body converts into vitamin A. Preparation and Storage Peaches and nectarines always have to be picked ripe. They do not ripen well after they have been picked. You can keep peaches and nectarines for one to three days but you have to be very carefull, one small bruise and it will go bad on that spot.
Peaches will peel more easily if blanched for a minute in boiling water then plunged in cold water for a minute to stop the effect of the heat. Peaches discolor quickly when exposed to the air, so should be sprinkled with lemon or lime juice, or a fruit keeper if not eaten or cooked immediately. History Peaches date back to the 10th century B.C. and are often found on illustrations from that time. Prunus persica, the scientific name of the peach, suggests that peaches came from Persia, but China is actually the peach's original home. Peaches were originally from an area near the city of Xian, China. Wild peaches, called "Maotao" or "Yietao", still grow in remote areas of China. Peaches spread to Russia and Persia (present-day Iran) probably because Chinese traders dropped peach pits along their trade routes. Alexander the Great and his armies found the peaches in Persia and brought them to Greece. Throughout the next centuries, peaches were spread all over Europe. The peach got it's name around 300 B.C. The greek philosopher Theophrastus thought it came from Persia and named this lovely fruit to that country. In the first century the fruit is mentioned by Romans who wrote that they imported the fruit from Persia. It is supposed that the peach reached Europe around the year 0. In England they don't show up before 1650 A.D.
Introduced into the Americas by the Spanish, the peach quickly became a favorite among Native Americans who were growing it well before most of the colonists got around to planting peach trees. Long identified with Georgia, the Peach State, the peach remains a temperate climate fruit of short season that bruises easily, and is thus eagerly anticipated each summer and appreciated for its sweet, warm taste. Archaeologists have found bowls of peaches, revered as a potent symbol of immortality, entombed with Chinese dignitaries several centuries before Christ. Peaches were probably the first fruit crop domesticated in China about 4000 years ago.
Cultivars grown today derive largely from ecotypes native to southern China, an area with climate similar to that of the southeastern USA, a major peach growing region. Peaches were moved to Persia (Iran) along silk trading routes. In fact, the epithet persica denotes Persia, which is where Europeans thought peaches originated. Greeks and especially Romans spread the peach throughout Europe and England starting in 300-400 BC. Peaches came to the new world with explorers of the 16th-17th centuries, with the Portuguese introducing it to South America and Spaniards to the northern Florida coast of North America. Native Americans and settlers distributed the peach across North America into southern Canada, and it is cultivated in 2/3 of the 48 contiguous states today.
Strange enough, the nectarine is never mentioned in descriptions from the time Before Christ. Nectarines are first mentioned in America in 1720 when they grew between the peach trees in Virginia. A.J. Downing registered 19 nectarine races in America in 1857. Today many types of nectarines are cultivated. Darwin (1731-1802) noticed that peach trees spontaneously produced nectarines and that this also happens the other way around. He even describes a tree that produced a fruit that was half peach half nectarine and later fell back producing peaches. Peach Tortellini Salad with Basil Peach Vinaigrette
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