Peach lovers can now rejoice and head out to the markets for the freshest, juiciest newly picked peaches, which arrived just a little later than usual, but possibly the best in years. Due to just enough rain to produce size and sunshine to produce sugars and color, this year’s crop is of optimum quality, according to the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council, which monitors the progress of growth and production.
The delectable fruit is being celebrated with special “Peach Parties” in farm markets, community farmers markets, restaurants, supermarkets and u-pick orchards throughout the state, starting July 17th at the Margate Farmers Market and finishing up August 31st at Brothers Moon Restaurant, in Hopewell. While August is the official “Jersey Peach Month,” new, early varieties of locally grown peaches now are usually harvested in early July. This season being late, availability started the second week in July, but the locally grown peach supply will continue through mid-September. Diverse varieties of white and yellow fleshed peaches and nectarines ripen at different times throughout the season.
Several restaurants this year offer specially created peach dishes and/or entire peach menus during August. Brothers Moon in Hopewell, always innovative, offers its “Peach Themed” menus, July 23 through all of August. A selection of recipes is attached. Gladstone Tavern (in Gladstone), celebrates “Peach Week” July 29-August 3rd. The Collingswood area celebrates peaches with a three-day “Just Peachy” multi-course menu at Tortilla Press, Blue Plate, El Sitio, and Collingswood Blackbird/West Side Gravy, August 5th, 6th and 7th. These restaurants will hand out recipes to guests and have special presentations on how peaches are grown in New Jersey that makes them special, given by peach grower John Hurff of Schober Orchards. The restaurant promotion will be kicked off at the Collingswood Farmers Market on August 2nd, with chef’s demonstrating cooking with peaches. Grain House at the Olde Mill in Basking Ridge offers four nights of specially created peach desserts, August 7, 8, 9, & 10th.
Celebrity author and chef Produce Pete will join the peach celebration at Ramsey Farmers Market on August 10th. Produce Pete appears weekly on WNBC TV-NY and WCAU TV-Philadelphia with his widely acclaimed fruit and vegetable segments Hammonton Farmers Market is having the newly crowned Peach Queen meeting vintage Peach Queens of 50s and 60s, with members of their courts. Alstede Farms in Chester and Terhune Orchards in Princeton are hosting two-day peach festivals, August 2nd and 3rd, that include chefs’ demonstrations, children’s activities, Pam Mount’s peach canning workshop, music and much more. Tree-Licious Orchards and Holtzhauser Farms are hosting Farm-to-Fork Dinners right in their orchards, under the trees where the aroma of peaches pervades the air and whets the appetite.
Finally, this is the second season for the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council’s Perfect Peach Pie (or cobbler) amateur baking contest. Each participating venue will have food expert judges pick the best pie. Winners will go on to compete for two first prizes of $300 each. One will be from south Jersey; the other, from north Jersey. Last year’s winners were from the Collingswood Farmers Market and Jersey City’s Riverview Farmers Market. Winners were chosen on Fox TV’s "Good Day Philadelphia," and New York’s WPIX TV’s Morning News.
The whole celebration of Jersey-grown peaches kicks off at the Gloucester County 4-H Fair in Mullica Hill, July 24th-27th, with three days of peaches, peach queens and other festivities.
For further information, email the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council information office, info@jerseypeaches.com; or visit the website www.jerseypeaches.com and find jersey peaches on facebook.com/newjerseypeaches. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Peaches.
The New Jersey Peach Promotion Council is a non-profit voluntary organization of growers, shippers, wholesalers and associated industries dedicated to maintaining a viable peach industry in the Garden State for the purpose of preserving farmers and farmland; and to providing the highest quality and best tasting fresh peaches for consumers. New Jersey is the fourth largest peach producing state in the country, with approximately 80 orchards on 5,5000 acres.
Source: New Jersey Peach Promotion Council
