The Sensitive Peach
There’s a peach variety that stands out among all the other varieties, and it’s not the most perfect one on the outside. It has scars, dents, and bruises. Have you ever heard of the term, HSP? It stands for Highly Sensitive Person. This is the H.S.Peach!
You won’t find the Elberta Peach in stores because it doesn’t look perfect on the outside. And why should it? This peach is one of the best tasting peaches out there, scars and all. While grocery stores need to carry things that will last on the shelf longer and be seen a certain way, we end up missing out on thousands of varieties, if we don’t seek them out. Nothing wrong with having grocery stores, but they can’t carry produce that doesn’t hold up on the shelf. Which means, if we want rare varietals to stick around our abundant Earth, we will want to keep supporting them.
Farmer Gene says, “All the peach pie makers come out this time of season, because it’s one of the best peaches for pie making. But it’s so delicate, if you even look at it, it will bruise!” To which I responded, “Sounds like me!”
After making a creamy peach pie myself, I have to agree with the small group of people who know about this rare and delicate treat.
It’s interesting how we learned the opposite of quality. That by looking at something on the outside, determines its quality. The most “perfect” looking produce is often grown from soil full of chemicals. It causes me frustration to look at it, after all these years of understanding what I know now.
This peach is a perfect reflection of beautiful imperfection, which a lot of us can relate to on some level. Just look at the color on the inside. The vibrancy!
I can usually tell if a peach is from the store or if it’s from one of our farms. Something I noticed during a recent photo shoot. Below is a more common yellow peach variety. The first photo is from the supermarket. I wasn’t fond of it, though always grateful for food.
The second photo that came from our bundles, from Etheridge Farm, was prefect as I cut through it. You could see the vibrancy, and it brought me happiness to take the photo. You can see that it was only harvested a few days ago.
And here’s our peach! :)
Something else it helps to know about peaches in August and September, is that they’re designed to be firm in order to protect themselves from the heat. And we really had a hot hot August! With temperatures up to 120 degrees. For my well intended friend here, the peach from the store looked ripe on the outside, and our peach seemed less ripe and more firm. On the contrary the first peach had been on the shelf too long, and the second peach was just right. You can see it and taste it! I say that with lots of appreciation to my friend who cut open her peach, so that I could share this.
In August/September, you’ll know when our peach is ripe if you give it a little squeeze and it has some bounce to it.
As for the Elberta Peach, don’t miss out on this varietal next year! We’ll have it available as an add on again! It will have bruises, and will not cost any less. If anything, it has more value, but it’s the same price as the other peaches. :)
