Ain’t that just peachy?

"An apple is an excellent thing -- until you have tried a peach." George du Maurier

Ain’t that just peachy? On June 15, 1982, Ronald Reagan issued one of his most important proclamations: he decreed that July was to become "National Peach Month". Those of us who eat fresh peaches really must tend to agree; peaches harvested in July are more likely to be at their peak than at any other time. U.S. farmers harvested 1.25 million tons of peaches in July 2005.
"Chocolate's okay, but I prefer a really intense fruit taste. You know when a peach is absolutely perfect... it's sublime. I'd like to capture that and then use it in a dessert." Kathy Mattea
Peaches are the largest variety of stone fruits, which claim the apricot, cherry, plum, and nectarine among their family. This family has the rare distinction of having its fruit and seeds both being consumed; the almond and coffee bean both come from stone fruit pits.
"A Georgia peach, a real Georgia peach, a backyard great-grandmother's orchard peach, is as thickly furred as a sweater, and so fluent and sweet that once you bite through the flannel, it brings tears to your eyes."Melissa Fay Greene, 'Praying for Sheetrock'
The Chinese began domesticating the peach around 4000 years ago, just as metal tools were coming into widespread use in the Bronze Age Xia dynasty. With a climate similar to that of the southeastern U.S., it's no wonder some of the best peaches grow there. As traders followed the silk routes, the peach made its way to Persia, the Nile, the Mediterranean and Europe.
"One does a whole painting for one peach and people think just the opposite - that particular peach is but a detail." Pablo Picasso
Dame Nellie Melba, who sang like a bird and loved to dine, was feted by Escoffier with the immortal Peach Melba, which he created at the Savoy in 1893 to repay her for tickets to see her perform at London’s Covent Garden as Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin. At an intimate gathering of friends, the great chef sculpted an ice swan to commemorate an image from the opera and settled a bowl of vanilla ice cream, vanilla soaked peaches and raspberry puree between its wings: a real peach receiving her just dessert.

“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring and because it has fresh peaches in it” Thomas Walker


Festivals
http://www.louisianapeachfestival.org/ Ruston, LA
http://www.scpeachfestival.org/ Gaffney, SC
http://www.gapeachfestival.com/ Peach County, GA
http://www.palisadepeachfest.com/ Palisade, CO