Peach

First discovered in Persia by the conquering army of Alexander the Great, who believed they originated there, hence their botanical name, Prunus persica. Also called Persian apples. But the luscious, juicy peach actually came from China 2,500 years ago, a far cry from the fruit we find in the market today. The first peaches were small, hard, sour and almost inedible. Still, the Chinese treasured them as a symbol of longevity and immortality. From China, peaches traveled along age-old caravan routes to the Near East and then to Greece and Rome. According to a modern currency conversion, a peach cost the equivalent of $4.50 in Rome during the 1st century BC and remained a luxury for centuries thereafter. Peaches were brought to the New World by Spanish, French and English explorers and settlers. Columbus was said to have brought the very first ones. The governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony requested that peaches be included among the first seeds sent to the colony in 1629.

Next to the apple, the peach is the most widely cultivated fruit tree in the world. Today, the U.S. produces one-quarter of the world's supply of peaches. It ranks as one of the four most popular North American fruits (the others being apple, banana and orange) and has more than 2,000 varieties, classified as freestone, for fruit that doesn't cling to the stone, and clingstone, for fruit that does. Freestones are popular for eating fresh and for canning and drying, while the clingstones, which have paler flesh, are useful for poaching, because they keep their shape and flavor. Usually, peaches are not sold by variety; they are more commonly sold by the color of their flesh - either "white" or "yellow." Yellow peach varieties include Flaming Fury, Crimson Lady, Candor, Derby, Sugar Time, Sweet Scarlet, Princess Gayle and Sweet September. White peach varieties include Spring Snow, Snow Prince, White Dragon, Ivory Princess, White Lady, Summer Sweet and Snow Giant. See also blood peach.

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