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Peach Varieties
Common Peach Questions
Recipes

PEACH VARIETIES

People always ask us what variety of peach is the best – our answer is that they are all great! And we honestly mean that!

Unlike apples, yellow peaches do not have as large of a difference in flavor. The biggest difference in our peaches is when they are ready to be picked.  We have a number of varieties so that we can offer you peaches from August into September.

We feel confident that you will enjoy any of these delicious varieties:

• Autumnglo - Very good quality, large, firm-fleshed, yellow freestone.  Picked close to Labor day.
  
• Crest Haven - Medium to large fruit, firm, very round.  Little fuzz.  Flesh is yellow, nonbrowning, juicy, and sweet with a good flavor.  Freestone.
  
• Ernie's Choice - Medium to large.  Yellow flesh, some red around pit.  Firm, sweet.  Freestone.
  
• Glo Haven - Large, almost round yellow peach.  Flesh is firm and resistant to browning.  Excellent quality.  Freestone.
  
• John Boy - Very high quality.  Yellow flesh.  Large and firm.  Freestone.  Ripens in early Aug.
• Loring - Very good quality.  Picked mid-August.
  
• Red Haven - Medium sized, round, yellow peach.  Very firm, smooth texture, good flavor.  Highly versatile - use for canning, freezing, snacking.  Early peach: ripens around Aug. 1.
• Sentry - The first of our freestone peaches.  Available mid to late July.
  
• Sun High - Large, smooth, yellow freestone of high quality.  Firm, juicy, sweet.  Excellent for canning and freezing.  Picked around Aug. 10th.

COMMON PEACH QUESTIONS:

1. What makes a peach flavorful?  It really isn't so much a question of variety, the same variety can taste different year to year.  It is more a question of the weather.  A hot and dry season will lead to a sweet and flavorful peach.



2. Should I use yellow or white peaches for canning?  Yellow will be better.  White peaches will brown faster.



3. What is the difference between a yellow and a white peach?  The flesh of the peach is either yellow or white.  The whiter peaches are less acidic and have a sweeter flavor than the yellow.  Some people prefer yellow, others white.



4. What is a doughnut peach?  This is a white peach that is not spherical.  Instead it has more of a "doughnut" shape with the pit being the hole of the doughnut.  They are extra sweet.



5. Can I use my peaches the same day that I buy them?  Most of the peaches that you get from us will need about 3 days to soften.  Peaches are a very soft fruit.  Because of this, we need to pick them a little harder to prevent them from being bruised and smashed.  We recommend that you spread your peaches out on your countertop after purchase so that they will be at room temperature and not piled on top of each other.  It's not likely that they will all soften at the same time, so you can use them as they soften.  For smaller quantities, you can put them in a paper bag at room temperature to speed this up.



6. How many peaches do I need for canning?  A half-bushel will make 10-12 quarts.



7. What is a freestone peach?  A freestone peach means that it comes off the pit easily.  The earliest varieties of peaches are clingstone.  Our first peach is Sentry, which is classified as a freestone - but the first picking will cling slightly more than the later pickings. For this reason we think of them as semi-cling, but we have not had any trouble removing the pit if you allow the peaches to soften for a few days.