Thursday, April 28, 2011

Re: [Gardening in Central Florida] New comment on First peaches, plums of the season.

Someone in the comments asked about the flavor of the my Earligrande peaches and the Gulf series plums. This is the first year that I have harvested the peaches, and I chose not to thin them given the relatively small crop. The peaches are smallish. Like all early–season peaches (and these are very early season peaches: they ripened before May!), these peaches lack the rich, full, intensely sweet flavor that I associate with Midwestern and Northern peaches. A couple of years ago I was in New Hampshire in August, and we sneaked into a large orchard late one night and gorged ourselves on perfectly ripe, late season New Hampshire peaches. Unspeakably delicious. The peaches one can grow in Florida will never rival their northern cousins in terms of flavor. With that caveat in mind, I would say that these particular peaches are nonetheless very tasty. Though not quite as sweet as I might like, they have excellent texture and a very honest peach flavor. They are Freestone peaches with reasonably thin skins and fair amount of juice. 

The plums, like all southern plums, are on the small side. Because there is a high ratio of skin to flesh, my kids do not particularly care for them. But if you relish a mix of sour and candy-sweet flesh, then you will love these plums. Very juicy, excellent texture, and straightforward plum flavor.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you! I have a Tropic Beauty peach that will ripen shortly. The peaches already smell and look awesome, but they are still rock hard. I can't wait!

Michael said...

my two cents: pick them when they give SLIGHTLY. they are 95% as sweet as they are ever going to be. let them finish ripening inside. trust me--in fla, everything likes a soft peach. like tomatoes, it's best to harvest them a day before they are completely ready, and then let them finish off inside. you might lose a tiny bit of starch to sugar conversion that would happen on the tree, but, hey, it'll be damn good. and YOU get to eat it, not the birds and squirrels!

Anonymous said...

The peaches in warmer climates may benefit from canning and or cooking.
http://www.plantdex.com