Peach
Peaches are sweet and juicy stone fruits that grow on deciduous peach trees, which thrive in temperate climates. Originally cultivated in ancient China around 2000 BCE, peaches spread westward through the Silk Road, reaching Persia and Greece by 300 BCE. The fruit is notable for its fuzzy skin, which can be reddish when ripe, and its flesh, which can be yellow or white. Peaches are classified into two types based on their stone: freestone, where the pit separates easily, and clingstone, where it remains attached. As of 2014, over 54% of the world's peaches were produced in Asia, with significant contributions from Europe and the Americas. In the United States, major peach-producing states include California, South Carolina, and Georgia, the latter known as the "Peach State." Peaches are versatile in culinary uses, enjoyed fresh or incorporated into various products like jams and juices. The rich history and cultural significance of peaches, particularly in Chinese mythology where they symbolize immortality, add depth to their appreciation globally.
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Peach
A peach is a fruit that grows on a peach tree, a deciduous tree grown in temperate climates that originated in Tibet and western China. Most peaches appear reddish when ripe, and their flesh is yellowish or white. Peach skin is fuzzy to the touch. The peach is characterized as a stone fruit, containing a stone, or large seed, in the center that is detachable. The peach's pulp is sweet tasting and juicy when ripe. The people of ancient Asia cultivated peaches, before the fruit made its way into Europe. Peaches were eventually produced on a large scale in places such as Italy, the United States, Greece, Spain, France, Mexico, and a number of Middle Eastern countries. More than two thousand cultivars exist worldwide, with China producing more than half of the world's peaches annually.
Background
Early scholars believed the peach originated in Persia (modern-day Iran) and its botanical name, Prunus persica, is a reference to this belief. Nineteenth-century scholars eventually located the true origin of the cultivated peach in China. Peaches were cultivated in China as early as 2000 BCE, but archaeologists have unearthed peach stones that date back more than 7,500 years to the Zhejiang province of China. Peaches appear in ancient Chinese texts dating to the tenth century BCE. The peach symbolizes immortality in Chinese Taoist mythology. Peaches are referenced in the Taoist legend of Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, a goddess who lived in a jade palace surrounded by peach trees bearing fruits of immortality. The peach eventually migrated west into Persia and Greece via the Silk Road, and arrived in Greece around 300 BCE.
By the Middle Ages, the peach was being grown in Italy, France, and Spain, with France being one of the major European producers. The fruit was a popular inclusion among still-life paintings during this period and throughout the European Renaissance. Italian painter Caravaggio repeatedly featured the peach in his fruit paintings and was known to detail worm holes and blemishes on the fruit. These inclusions were meant to be symbolic of life's briefness, with the deterioration of the luscious peaches representing humanity's mortality. The peach was later brought to the Americas by the Spaniards. The fruit first arrived in Central America in the first half of the sixteenth century. Peaches then made their way into North America and were cultivated by Native Americans.
In the Americas, the peach became locally adapted to different regions, resulting in multiple varieties developing over the next few decades. Peach production was especially concentrated in the southern region of North America in states such as Georgia and Florida. Cultivars directly from China also began to make their way west in the 1850s, introducing further cultivars to the region. Commercial peach farming took hold of the southern United States by 1900, with southern states such as California and South Carolina leading in peach production due to their accommodating climates.
Overview
Peach trees are small in size, about 20 feet (6 meters) in height, and primarily grow in temperate climates around the world. In North America, peach trees can be found in mild temperate regions of Nova Scotia and Ontario as well as across the southern United States in regions close to the Gulf Coast all the way to California. Peach tree leaves are slim and pointed and willow over the trunk. In the United States, the trees sprout pink five-petaled flowers between January and February and sometimes in March. The tree begins to fruit in April and May, with green buds ripening into red fruit over the next few weeks. Once the peaches have ripened fully, they are ready to be picked from the tree and eaten. Peach trees can also produce fruit called nectarines. Nectarines are the same species as peaches but have a slightly different taste and texture. Unlike the fuzzy surface of a peach, the skin of a nectarine is smooth. Growers have also experimented with breeding the two fruits together to produce what are known as peacherines.
Peach flesh is tender when ripe and can be white or yellowish. The fruit itself tastes sweet and is highly perishable if not consumed soon after harvest. Due to the many varieties of peach cultivars in existence, peach shape and size differ by locale. Common peach varieties found in the United States include the Redhaven, Reliance, Harmony, Saturn, Contender, and Florida Beauty.
Peaches are divided into two classifications: freestone and clingstone. Freestone peaches contain an easily detachable stone, while clingstones have stones that are firmly attached. The fruit contains about 8 percent sugar, more than half of which is in the form of sucrose. Peaches also contain high amounts of potassium and vitamin C as well as malic and citric acid. Peaches can be eaten fresh but also cooked, frozen, dried, canned, and included as ingredients in jams, jellies, juices, wines, and brandies.
Asia was responsible for more than 54 percent of the world's peach production as of 2014, with Europe and the Americas trailing behind at 25 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Between 1994 and 2014, peach production increased by about 50 percent, from approximately 11.5 million tons to 22.7 million tons. In 2014, the United States produced about 1.2 million tons of peaches. The state of Georgia is known as the "Peach State" among Americans due to its long history of peach production, which began in the sixteenth century. Georgia ranks third among American peach-growing states, however, behind California and South Carolina.
Bibliography
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