PEACHES
The introduction of the peach in Europe is attributed by some to Alexander the Great following his expeditions against the Persians, by others to the Greeks who have brought it from Egypt.
Peaches are fleshy roundish drupes, longitudinally furrowed on one side, with a peel covered with a motley coloured fluff or glabra. The peach has a typical fleshy and juicy consistency due to its high water content and the presence of pectin. Its ripening takes place between the first and second ten-day periods of August in the southern areas, up to early October for the latest cultivars only in Sicily. In principle the climate conditions of Italy and of other Mediterranean countries are ideal for the cultivation of the peach which can sustain rather broad limits, from sharp winter temperatures of also -15 -18°C up to subtropical ambient temperatures where winter rest is rather limited.
Characteristics
Peaches are particularly appreciated for their taste, crispiness and thirst quenching quality, and they have a high water content besides pectins, sugars, mineral salts and vitamins including A and C. Their pulp is very juicy, tastes of sugar more or less slightly sour, and is white, yellow or greenish. The peach has tonic, thirst quenching, gastric stimulant, vermifugal, refreshing and purifying properties caused by diuretic action.
Consumption
Best consumed when fresh, but also taken as syrup or with cooked products. In cosmetics, the pulp is used to prepare refreshing skin masks. In cooking, other than it being normally eaten fresh, the peach could be used to prepare marmalades, jellies, syrups, juices and ice-creams.
Production area:
Mazzarrone – Canicattì for the O'henry, Summerset and Morsiani varieties
Pedagaggi – Mazzarrone – Canicattì for the Fairlane variety
Varieties
The peach cultivars, in relation to the species to which they belong and to the type of products supplied, can be distinguished in the peach from its tomentosa skin (covered with fluff) and nectarine
O'henry: a largish peach; symmetrical round shape; yellow peel overtinted as for 85% with a bright red colour; yellowish pulp, sturdy and crispy.
Summerset: a largish peach; yellow peel overtinted red as for 40% of its surface area; yellowish pulp.
Fairlane: quite a largish sphere shaped nectarine. Light faded yellow peel with a light red moiré. Very sturdy yellow peel.
Morsiani: a largish roundish-oblong nectarine, on average symmetrical. Light coloured peel overtinted as for 40-80% of its surface area with bright red. Yellowish pulp having high consistency