By Toi Degree

August is National Peach Month, a month to celebrate the fruit’s importance to the economy and food supply, as well as to encourage people to eat more peaches. It was former President Ronald Reagan who designated August as National Peach Month in June 1982. And, ever since, people have celebrated in many ways, such as attending peach festivals, going peach picking, baking peach desserts, and eating peaches as a topping for grilled meats and in salads as well.

As an industry, the peach plays a mighty role in our food supply and economy. From orchard to factory, restaurants to bakeries and grocers, this fruit delivers. While Georgia may be the first state to come to mind when we think of peaches, California leads the nation in production. In the United States, 20 states produce peaches commercially. Besides California and Georgia, the other two top producers are South Carolina and New Jersey. Pennsylvania and Washington grow a lot of peaches, too.

The peach tree (Prunus persica) is a species of prunus tree that is native to China and bears an edible juicy fruit, which is also called a peach. This is a deciduous tree that grows to be approximately 5–10 meters tall, belonging to the subfamily prunoideae of the family rosaceae. It is classified with the almond tree in the subgenus amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by its corrugated seed shell.

The leaves of the peach tree are lanceolate, about 7–15 centimeters long and 2–3 centimeters broad. The lovely flowers on the peach tree are produced in early spring before the leaves; the delicate, five-petaled, pink flowers are usually either sitting alone or paired with another flower.

The fruit of this tree, which is why everyone loves it so much, is called a drupe, with a single large seed encased in hard wood (usually called either a “stone” or “pit”), yellow or whitish flesh, a delicate aroma, and a skin that is either velvety (peaches) or smooth (nectarines) in different cultivars.

While the flesh of a peach is very delicate and easily bruised in some cultivars, it can be firm in some commercial cultivars, especially while it is still green. The seed of the peach is red-brown, oval-shaped, and around two centimeters long.

Peaches, along with cherries, plums and apricots, are called stone fruits (drupes), which means that they have a large pit or seed.

Peaches can be enjoyed fresh off the tree and baked into our favorite desserts. Peaches are a nutritious snack that can be a healthy addition to meals. A medium peach contains about 60 calories, 8 percent of an adult’s daily fiber, 6 percent of vitamin A, 15 percent of vitamin C, and 7 percent of potassium. Eating the skin of the peach ensures you get all the fiber.

There are two types of peaches — freestone and clingstone. The flesh determines the type of peach. How the flesh comes away from the stone or the pit in the middle of the peach gives it the name. When the meat comes away freely from the stone, the peach is a freestone peach; if the flesh clings to the peach, it’s a clingstone.

This sweet stone fruit makes delicious ice cream when it’s very ripe and full of peachy juices. However, you don’t have to use fresh peaches to make this ice cream. Buy frozen peaches if the grocery or farmers’ markets don’t have them in yet. The family will love making homemade ice cream together. The best part will be eating up the finished product on a hot summer day. All season long, whether you are canning, baking, freezing, or even sending the family out for more, we can’t get enough of peaches.

Toi N. Degree is associate family and consumer education agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Contact her at 704-216-8970 or toi_degree@ncsu.edu.