Peaches are not the pits

A delicate fruit with deliciously sweet and juicy flesh, paper-thin skin and a texture ranging from fuzzy to quite smooth, originally cultivated in China as far back as 1100 B.C., peaches were treasured by royalty. Today, peaches are grown across the world in temperate climates, including Italy, Spain, Greece and the United States. Domestically, California remains the No. 1 peach grower, followed by South Carolina. Georgia, which is known as the ‘Peach State,’ sits at No. 3, and New Jersey is fourth. In the Northern hemisphere, peach season runs from May through September, making the summer months the prime time for enjoying peach recipes. 

There are hundreds of varieties of peaches, but they fall into just two main categories: freestone and clingstone. Freestone peaches have pits that can be easily removed from the flesh. These are best for eating. They also are good for using in recipes that call for halved or sliced peaches. The clingstone peaches have pits that stick to the fruit flesh. These peaches are mostly used by commercial canners and sometimes for home recipes that call for diced peaches or peach puree.