Peaches are a multi-million dollar cash crop that bolsters the economies of over 32 states. Also, the United States is the world’s largest peach producer, providing more than 20 percent of the world’s peaches and exporting approximately 250 million pounds each year.
Here’s some history on the origin of the peach. The scientific name persica, along with the word “peach” itself and its cognates in many European languages, derives from an early European belief that peaches were native to Persia (now Iran). The modern botanical consensus is that they originate in China, and were introduced to Persia and the Mediterranean region along the silk Road before Christian times. Cultivated peaches are divided into “freestone” and “clingstone” cultivars, depending on whether the flesh sticks to the stone or not; both kinds can have either white or yellow flesh. Peaches with white flesh typically are very sweet with little acidity, while yellow fleshed peaches typically have an acidic tang coupled with sweetness, though this also varies greatly. Low-acid white fleshed peaches are the most popular kinds in China, Japan, and neighboring Asian countries, while Europeans and north Americans have historically favored the acidic, yellow fleshed peaches.
In recognition of the role peaches play in our food supply and our economy, via a July 1982 resolution, former President Ronald Reagan proclaimed that every August will be observed as “National Peach Month”. Additionally, President Reagan called upon the people of the United States to incorporate this nutritious fruit into their diets and to celebrate this month with appropriate programs and activities. This holiday is for honoring and enjoying the great flavor of juicy peaches.
You can eat them right off the tree, sliced in cream, make peach cobbler with ice cream or you can even blend them and make smoothies. It doesn’t matter how you eat them just as long as you celebrate National Peach Month by eating them in as many ways as you can think of.