RECIPES: Time to savor Georgia peaches

Peaches shine in dishes sweet or savory
Summer peach dishes include (clockwise, from lower left) Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger Peach Barbecue Sauce, Green Beans with Buttery Peaches, Peach Gazpacho, and Dreamy Peach Ice Pops. (Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Summer peach dishes include (clockwise, from lower left) Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger Peach Barbecue Sauce, Green Beans with Buttery Peaches, Peach Gazpacho, and Dreamy Peach Ice Pops. (Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Lots of folks other than Justin Bieber “get their peaches down in Georgia.” Georgia has long been known as the Peach State and produces over 130 million pounds of peaches a year. However, contrary to our snappy nickname and inclusion in pop songs, South Carolina and California produce more peaches than Georgia growers.

Those states may grow more of this pitted fruit today, but peaches do have a long history in Georgia. Franciscan monks introduced peaches to St. Simons and Cumberland islands along the coast in 1571. However, the efforts of Samuel Rumph, a farmer in Marshallville, Georgia, who bred an Elberta peach from the seed of a Chinese cling peach in the late 1800s, transformed growing peaches into agribusiness. His cross-breeding produced a large, beautiful peach that shipped well. Elberta peaches found their fame and he, his fortune in New York City.

One hundred years later, I attended high school in the same Marshallville, where spring break was dictated by peach season. Our state moniker may not be completely accurate, but peaches are big business in South Georgia and a huge contributor to the state economy. My schoolmate Howard Brown is now the second-generation owner of William L. Brown Farm. He grows a variety of old-fashioned peaches — Red Globes, O’Henry, and the illustrious Elberta. He says, “The crop is down about 60% this year due to a late frost, but the quality of the produce is very good.”

I grew up in the heart of peach country, and every summer the women of my family would “put up” peaches. We’d can peaches, freeze peaches, and make peach jelly. The absolute best, however, was eating fresh peaches, not straight off the tree, as you might think, but standing over a sink in an air-conditioned kitchen.

Why do Georgia peaches taste so good? It’s all about the heat. Peak peach season is mid-July when temps are touching triple digits. Although it makes life miserable during the summer, these blazing hot days and nights accompanied by intense high humidity allow Georgia peaches to produce natural sugars 24/7.

When purchasing peaches, use your nose. Choose peaches with a slightly sweet and flowery scent. When peaches are cut, look for creamy gold to yellow flesh. The red or blush color on the skin is actually a characteristic of the variety, not ripeness. Avoid green or shriveled peaches. Never squeeze peaches, as they will bruise. If your peach purchase needs ripening, set them in a single layer on the counter, not stacked, and allow them to ripen for a day or so at room temperature. Once ripe, refrigerate them and use within a week.

There are two kinds of peaches: clingstone and freestone. With clingstone peaches, the flesh clings to the stone, no matter how ripe it is, while freestone peaches can be loosened from the pit with relative ease, especially when they’re ripe. Clingstone peaches typically ripen earlier in the season; freestone come in late June and early July in Georgia.

Typically, Southern recipes quickly turn the healthful peach into delicious indulgences like cobbler and ice cream. I’m a huge fan of these sweets, but peaches are incredible in savory dishes as well. Check out these quick and easy recipes celebrating the sweet Georgia peach.

RECIPES

Get in and out of a hot kitchen with quick and easy peach recipes bold with summer flavor and lean on fat. Green Beans with Buttery Peaches, Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger Peach Barbecue Sauce, Peach Gazpacho, and Dreamy Peach Ice Pops are certain to become hot weather favorites.

The delightful combination of green beans and buttery peaches is sure to please. (Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Green Beans with Buttery Peaches

Green beans and peaches might seem like an odd combination, but considering that peaches and green beans are harvested at the same time, there’s much truth to the food philosophy “What grows together, goes together.” The combination of the brightly flavored crisp tender green beans with the silky sweetness of the peaches is a winning one!

When you make Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger Peach Barbecue Sauce, you baste the pork chops with the sauce toward the end of the grilling time and serve some alongside the finished dish. (Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger Peach Barbecue Sauce

It’s important to wait until the chops have cooked quite a bit before basting with the barbecue sauce. If you start saucing too soon, the sauce will burn.

Peach Gazpacho offers a healthy, refreshing dish for summer days or nights. (Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Peach Gazpacho

Gazpacho is essentially a liquid salad. It’s best prepared at the height of summer, using fresh ingredients. The key is to use the proper amount of salt to draw out the moisture and flavor of the vegetables.

Enjoy a homemade frozen treat with Dreamy Peach Ice Pops. (Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Credit: Virginia Willis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dreamy Peach Ice Pops

Homemade pureed fruit mixtures are so much tastier — and cheaper — than pre-made frozen pops filled with sugar and artificial colors and sweeteners. If you don’t have any molds, you can generally find them at a dollar store. The recipe calls for skyr, a type of Icelandic fresh cheese similar to Greek yogurt and readily available in national chains. The nutritional information is based on no-fat skyr. For more rich and indulgent frozen pops, use skyr or Greek yogurt with a higher percentage of fat.

Virginia Willis is an Atlanta-based Food Network Kitchen chef, James Beard Award-winning food writer and cookbook author. Follow her at virginiawillis.com.

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