Peachy keen

Summer in Colorado culminates with the glorious arrival of Palisade peach season. And if you happen to be among those who think the Palisade peach is far superior to the average mealy grocery store variety, it may be more than just a case of West Slope pride.

According to Bill St. John, a Denver-based foodie writing in the Denver Post, the reason that Palisade peaches taste so good is all in the science of geography. “Every element of Palisade’s place on Colorado’s Western Slope conspires to produce fruit unlike that from anywhere else,” wrote St. John recently. “Dry mountain air combined with lofty, closer-to-the-sun altitudes allows for intense and unrefracted sunlight, which results in high pigment concentration in both fruit and skin (just like humans who tan poolside).”

In addition, day-to-night temperature swings – very warm days and cool nights – slowly ripen and develop sugar and flavor molecules, while retaining the fruit’s acidity, “giving a Palisade peach not only luscious sweetness and flavor but also a tangy snap.”

But peaches aren’t just revered by Coloradans, who buy them by the flat full. According to St. John, throughout history, the peach has been held in high regard, its blossom adorning brides in China and Japan as a symbol of virginity and fertility.

There are more than 300 varieties of peaches grown in the United States and more than 2,000 globally. In earlier years, the Colorado crop was dominated by the Elberta peach. But now, six varieties make up more than half of Colorado’s peach crop: O’Henry, Redhaven, Glohaven, Suncrest, Red Globe and Cresthaven. 

But the peach goes back much farther than these varieties and even humans, with fossilized peach pits found in China dating back 2.5 million years. Despite its Chinese origins, though, the biological name for the peach, prunus Persica, comes from its proliferation in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran). It is believed the peach eventually found its way west along China’s Great Silk Road.

For ideas on what to do with peaches that made it to your kitchen, visit billstjohn.com.