The First Bite is the Sweetest

Bit into my first peach yesterday since last year – a definite early offering but being in the south it was just a few weeks sooner than anticipated, and it is never too soon to leave a dental impression on one of summer’s succulent sensations.

Having been in the land of Dixie for over a year now, I have sampled the peaches from three southern states. My apologies to the Peach State but your neighbor to just the north delivers a superior experience. I have found that South Carolina’s crop has produced the juiciest, sweetest and most fragrant of them all. Only when I was in the south of France, in early July, have I had peaches that were more intoxicating – releasing a siren’s scent that could not be ignored and bursting with a nectar that dare not be wasted that I licked every inch of its trail down my forearm.  For reasons unknown I have never experienced that concentration of juice in a domestic variety but the smell and sweetest has been revisited.

Peaches are one of those fruits along with plums, apricots, cantaloupe, and most berries that I will never eat if they come further than a half-day’s drive from where I am, and if they are bought in on refrigerated vehicles forget about it. These summer fruits need their full time on the branch to ripen and created those flavors that sends me into olfactory and taste nirvana. And, once exposed to the chill of refrigeration they muster a mere fraction of their true potency. This may seem extremely militant but when I have waited an entire year to bite into a summer miracle I want to get completely transfixed by its voodoo.

Southern Peach Cake – yields 10-inch cake

1-pound sliced peaches

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1-cup sugar

4 eggs

1/2-cup sweetened condensed milk

1-tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8-teaspoon salt

Buttered and flour a 10-inch cake pan.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a standing mixer mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

In another bowl beat the eggs, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla together to combine.

In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Then on a low speed add the flour to the butter mixture. Once the flour has been added to the butter pour in the egg mixture, and mix to well.

Place the sliced peaches on the bottom of the cake pan, and pour over the batter. Bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before un-molding. 

Summer's Toying

Amazing how a quick a person can get spoiled in just the mere clicking of a month. I am up in New York bopping around, and course, visiting the farmer’s market. I was hoping to catch the tail end of the cherry harvest but alas, this year it was a brief and underwhelming season as reported to me by one of my favorite sources for the first of summer’s stone fruits. Sad for the denizens of the northeast who usually get some intense, juicy cherries, however, I was secretly pleased because I missed nothing.

Quickly on the heels of cherries along will come peaches and plums, and then finally, the last member of the stone fruits -- apricots. In the market here I have been stuffing my face with sugar and shiro plums but I had to pass on the peaches. Having been in the south for much of the summer I have been eating redolent, luscious icons of summer for a while now, and these Yankee -raised cousins are shy and demure – nothing I want in a peach. When I was in Provence, and strolled through the village markets, the peaches sent out an aromatic siren’s call tempting all to its readiness. That trip set a standard that I refuse to compromise. If my eyes were not wandering from table to table surveying the haul of the week, I would have never known the peach had arrived back here in the canyons of New York. Silence is not something I expect or desire in this fruit. I’d say these northern family members need a few more weeks of heat, sun and branch time before this sensitive nose may catch a whiff of its vitality.

Peach-Lavender Cake – yields 9” cake
1-pound ripe peaches – cut into 1/2” slices
1-1/2 cups vanilla low-fat yogurt
4-eggs
1/4-pound unsalted butter – melted
1-teapoon vanilla extract
1/2-cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons lavender buds
2-cups all-purpose flour
1/2-teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8-teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Lightly butter the 9-inch cake pan, and distribute the sliced peaches on the bottom.

With a whisk, beat together the yogurt, eggs, butter,

vanilla,sugar and vanilla to thoroughly mix.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Using a spatula mix the flour into the yogurt mixture to just combined. Pour the batter over the peaches and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely, and then turn it out with the peaches on top.

Summer's Obsession

It seems that every summer I get stuck on a preserving method. First it was pickles then I started desiccating in salt and sugar. And, last summer, I was all about the tincture. I still have some basil, sorrel and lavender tincture in the kitchen. Now, of course I will put up some the above, as a matter of fact, I already have pickled jalapeno peppers and green tomatoes.

This year I am fascinated by the concept of achar…an Indian style of pickling that is big on spices and salt, and requires hours sitting in the hot sun. Since I am spending my summer in Atlanta I am offered a more intense, concentrated heat that my north-facing apartment in New York City affords me. Mushrooms have a better chance of sprouting then any sun-dried tomato would ever have there. This will not be my first time at making an achar. Years ago when I lived in Los Angeles I made a lime achar – I was in southern California and citrus was everywhere. It was a traditional application but it was my first.

Being in Georgia my mind immediately drifted towards the state’s iconic symbol…peaches. I am very familiar with mango achar, so why not a peach? The season for peaches started a few weeks ago here and has not quite peaked, so getting under-ripe ones was not an issue. I felt that if I used ripe peaches they would breakdown too much in during the process, and I am hoping for some chunks to remain behind.

At the farmer’s market this past week I secured my green subjects, and now all there is to do is baby sit them a bit – they require a daily shaking to help distribute the salt, spices and liquid that collects on the bottom -- otherwise, it is a wait and see. There is a roasted pork, steamed snapper and bowl of rice hoping to be accompanied by this southern achar.




Peach Achar – yields approx. 1-quart
4-pounds under-ripe peaches
2-inch piece peeled ginger
1-ounce fresh turmeric – peeled
1-teaspoon fenugreek
1/2-teaspoon whole black peppercorns
3-Thai green chilies
10-whole cloves
12-whole cardamom
3-tablespoons sesame oil
1/2-cup kosher salt
1/2-cup coconut or white distilled vinegar

Wash the peaches and then cut the peaches in quarters and discard the pit. Then cut each quarter in half and place in a 4-quart clean glass or ceramic jar.






In a mortar grind the ginger, turmeric, fenugreek, peppercorns, chilies, cloves, cardamom and 1/2-cup of salt to a rough paste.

In a 6-inch sauté pan heat the sesame oil over a medium heat, and add the ginger paste. Cook the paste for about 3 to 4 minutes until aromatic.

Carefully pour the paste into the jar with the peaches. Add the vinegar and remaining 1/4-cup of salt. Secure the lid tightly, and give the jar a good shake.

Place the jar in a spot where the sun will shine upon it for at least 6 to 8 hours a day. Shake the jar daily, for 3 to 4 weeks.

Store after that in the refrigerator.