by RYAN MILEJCZAK
Sponsored by Farm Credit of Central Florida
Summer is right around the corner, and that means it’s time for some sweet, juicy peaches. While they’re most often associated with our northern neighbor Georgia, peaches are also widely cultivated right here in Florida.
The peach tree, Prunus persica, was first domesticated in China about 6,000 BC. Its fruit is a relative of other “stone fruit,” so called for their large, hard pit. Relatives include plums, cherries, and nectarines, as well as almonds. In fact, you may have noticed peach pits look similar to almonds, and just as almonds can be made into marzipan, peach and apricot pits can be made into persipan.
Despite the different names, both the peach and nectarine are in fact the same species; the only difference is that nectarines have smooth skin, while peaches are fuzzy.
Globally, peaches are among the most popular fruits, behind only apples and pears for global temperate fruit production. California is the largest producer in the U.S., followed by South Carolina and Georgia. Florida is not a major producer, but our peach industry is growing.
Like many popular fruits grown in the U.S. today, the peach made its arrival right here in Florida when Spanish colonists introduced them in the mid-16th century. Peach trees quickly took hold in their new environment, proliferating so widely that when the English arrived in 1607, they believed the peach to be native to the Americas.
Despite their early arrival, it would take some time for peaches to be widely cultivated stateside, and many Americans saw them as little more than a difficult-to-control plant that could easily take over cropland. Thanks to the work of Thomas Jefferson and others, it soon became a popular crop, particularly in the south.
As with many of our other crops, Florida’s edge is in our early season. Florida peach season runs from March through May, compared with May through September for other regions. meaning our fruit is the first to hit the market each year.
As of the most recent statistics, about 2,000 acres of peaches are currently cultivated here in Florida, particularly Central Florida. This past year’s cold weather will likely be a boon to growers, helping provide sweeter fruit, but it may impact yields for this year’s crop.
Peach varieties grown here are primarily those developed by IFAS to be better suited to the Florida climate, such as Florida Grande, FloridaCrest, and UFGold. The breeding program first began back in 1952, and continues today. These varieties have qualities like requiring fewer chill hours, disease resistance, and early ripening in order to provide a high quality, early to market fruit.
Besides the peach/nectarine distinction, there are two many ways peaches are classified:
- Melting or non-melting: melting peaches are juicy and soft, ideal for eating fresh, while non-melting are firmer and ideal for canning
- Clingstone or free stone: as you might be able to guess, this refers to the peach pit. Clingstone peaches have flesh that “clings” to the pit, while freestone peaches have flesh that pulls away from it easily.
Regardless of variety, nutrition is about the same. A medium peach is low in calories, rich in fiber, and an excellent source of vitamins A and C. It also provides decent amounts of vitamins E and K, folate, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. They’re also rich in antioxidants, which can help protect the body against cancer.
So the next time you’re at the grocery store or your local farmers market, look for some fresh Florida peaches. Whether you eat them fresh, make them into a cobbler, or any other way you enjoy them, they’re sure to leave you feeling peachy keen.