Better Be Ellerbe Peaches | What You Need to Know About Peaches

Local peaches are juicy and tasty! Juice can be sticky!

Tree-ripened peaches are fragile:

Eat within 3 days. Buy enough to use, and return for more!
We will have peaches continuously until mid August.
Do NOT refrigerate!
If peach is soft, put in a fruit bowl
If peach is hard, keep in a paper bag until it is soft.

The earliest peaches are clingstone. They are yummy, but small, and be careful of the pit! It splits! Don’t bite it!

How to peel fresh peaches:

Wash or rinse ripe peaches.
Boil a pan of water deep enough to cover two peaches at a time.
Turn the burner on low. Keep at a low boil.
Working with a slotted spoon, dip the peaches into boiling water for 30-40 seconds.
Remove the peaches with the spoon and plunge them into a bowl of very cold water.
Peel the skin off the peach with a small paring knife. The skin should slip off easily.
Remove and place on a paper towel to dry slightly.
Cut through the peach in half right down to the pit.
The peach should come away from the pit without trouble. Discard the skin and pit and slice, dice or halve depending on the recipe.

Watch this video on "How To Pick a Peach"

Peach Varieties:

Table 1. Characteristics of Selected Peach and Nectarine Varieties in North Carolina

Variety	Freestone or Clingstone (Cs)	Browning Tendency	Maturity Season	Comments
Derby	Cs	Low	Early	N.C. variety; medium to large fruit.
Candor	Cs	Very low	Early	N.C. variety; medium-size fruit.
Dixired	Cs	Low	Early to mid	Late-blooming variety.
Surecrop	Semi-Cs	Moderate	Mid	Late-blooming variety.
Pekin	Semi-Cs	Low	Mid	N.C. variety; medium-size fruit.
Reliance	Semi-Cs	Low	Mid	Late-blooming variety; poor quality, soft flesh.
Redhaven	Semi-Cs	Low	Mid	Industry standard; recommended for freezing.
Clayton	Semi-Cs	Very low	Mid	N.C. variety; small-size fruit, excellent flavor.
Norman	Fs	Very low	Mid	N.C. variety; medium to large fruit; good for canning and freezing.
Carolina Belle	Fs	Very high	Mid	N.C. white-fleshed variety, large fruit.
Raritan Rose	Fs	---	Mid	White variety; softens rapidly.
Topaz	Fs	Low	Mid	Recommended for canning and freezing; flower buds are cold sensitive.
SungloN	Fs	Very High	Mid	Nectarine; susceptible to bacterial spot.
Nectar	Fs	---	Mid	White peach variety; late blooming.
Winblo	Fs	Very low	Mid	N.C. variety; medium to large fruit; good for canning and freezing.
RedgoldN	Fs	Low	Mid	Nectarine; susceptible to bacterial spot.
Ellerbe	Fs	Low	Mid	N.C. variety; medium to large fruit; good for canning and freezing.
Contender	Fs	Low	Mid	N.C. variety; large fruit size; very cold tolerant.
Summer Pearl	Fs	---	Mid to late	White variety; very susceptible to bacterial spot; high quality.
Biscoe	Fs	High	Mid to late	N.C. variety; large, high-quality fruit; recommended for canning.
Belle of Georgia	Fs	---	Mid to late	White variety; freezes well; popular for local markets.
Elberta	Fs	Very high	Mid to late	Favorite yellow variety, especially for local market.
Encore	Fs	---	Late	Hardy, late-blooming variety.
Monroe	Fs	High	Late	Susceptible to bacterial spot.
Emery	Fs	Very high	Late	N.C. variety; medium to large fruit.
Legend	Fs	Low	Late	N.C. variety; large fruit size.
Parade	Fs	Low	Late	Very-late-maturing California variety.

N = Nectarine

How to treat yourself to a tree-ripened peach!

Local peaches are juicy and tasty! Juice can be sticky!

Tree-ripened peaches are fragile:

The earliest peaches are clingstone. They are yummy, but small, and be careful of the pit! It splits! Don’t bite it!

How to peel fresh peaches:

Watch this video on "How To Pick a Peach"

Peach Varieties: