Doughnut Peaches

Doughnut peaches on the top, doughnut nectarines below

You can tell it’s doughnut peach season.  You’ve seen them in supermarkets.  Have you tried one?  The open minded, even slightly adventurous will say yum-yum.  Those timid, obedient souls who still only eat what their mommas told them to eat…well, you get the picture.

Doughnut peaches, otherwise known as donut peaches, saucer peaches, Saturn peaches, and flat peaches are originally from China, as are all peach varieties.  Wonder of wonders.  Another wonder is that doughnut peaches are an actual species of peach, not the project of genetic engineering.  Same may be said of the smooth skinned nectarine, which I was always erroneously taught was a cross between a peach and a plum.

Peaches and nectarines are both members of the rose family.  So, The Bard was not entirely correct.  A rose by another name may well lack thorns and taste delicious, although it would still smell as sweet.

China is still the world’s greatest peach producer and the only place where ‘wild peaches’ grow.  The wild ones are barely edible, or so I’m told.  Biggest producer in Europe is Italy.  In the United States, although Georgia is the Peach State, most peaches are grown in California, which sports so many varieties it’s hard to keep track. Overall, the U.S. supplies 25% of the world’s peaches.

But, back to those funny looking flat peaches.  I love ‘em.  My favorite variety, by far.  Why?  Sweet, melt in your mouth delicious.  Less fuzz on the skin.  Only about 37 calories.  They come in both white and yellow flesh varieties.  I like them both, but prefer the white.

Here’s an interesting question:  What is the world’s most popular fruit?  Trick question.  Tomato.  If you answered correctly, give yourself a pat on the back and don’t let me interrupt you from memorizing worthless facts.  If you’re a high school biology teacher and put that kind of question on an exam, don’t expect to ever see another apple on your desk.  I’d also check my seat before I sat down.  Tomatoes stain.

I know the next question.  What’s in second and third place?  Mango. Banana. In the U.S. the most popular fruits, in order, are apples, oranges, bananas, pears, and peaches.

It’s time to go have another doughnut…peach that is.  Join me for a little bit of sweet and fuzzy?