8.03.2009

Peaches!


It's so hard to buy a good peach from the grocery store these days.
They always look promising, but end up being bruised and mealy.

Fortunately, on our trip through Michigan, Vaughn's mom lead the way to a little fruit stand called Fruit Acres Farm Market & U-Pick. The stand is located in Coloma, conveniently located right off of I-94 at exit 39.

There was a bountiful selection of fresh, local fruits and veggies at very good prices. There were also imports, like bananas from Columbia and avocados from Mexico, but we were there for the local goods.

We picked up a half bushel of early peaches for an astonishing $10. What a deal! These were the juiciest, sweetest, most delicious peaches I have ever tasted (besides the ones from the farm I grew up on).

I spent a good chunk of the day prepping the peaches for freezing since we can't eat an entire half bushel before they spoil. Here's how I did it:

1. Wash the peaches, no matter how clean they look!

2. Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds to soften the skin for easy peeling.

3. After removing from the boiling water, submerge peaches in ice water to stop them from cooking all the way through.

4. Quarter peaches and remove pit and skin.*

5. Slice into desired widths.

6. Place peaches into a labeled zip-top freezer bag.

7. Sprinkle citric acid, ascorbic acid, or lemon juice** over the peaches, zip up the bag, and toss to mix thoroughly.

8. Unzip, squeeze out all of the air, and re-zip.

9. Place bag into a baking dish, cookie sheet or whatever fits into your freezer and place the lot of it in the freezer.***

Notes:

* There are two kinds of peaches: free stone and cling stone. The pit of the free stones will be easy to remove. If you find yourself with cling stone peaches, just cut around the pit with a pairing knife. If you try to pry the pit out of a cling you'll just end up mangling the fruit.

**Acid will keep the peaches from browning. I like Ball Fruit-Fresh Produce Protector. Follow the directions on the package.

***Why? So the bag doesn't conform to the wire rack in the freezer and get stuck. Also serves as a safety net just in case there are any holes in the bag.

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I put five cups of peaches in each gallon bag. One bag = one pie! I have enough to make five pies...but that can get boring. Perhaps a cool peach smoothie made with yogurt and fresh mint and basil. Or a peach and mango salsa to serve on grilled chicken or pork. Better still, a bowl full of frozen peaches, slightly thawed, to munch on in summer's sweltering heat!

My next step: prepping pie crusts and freezing them!



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