Stone Me by Marc Fosh

Wow! The fresh fruit on the market stalls looked really awesome this week and the selection was truly inspiring. With luscious strawberries, stunning looking cherries, thirst quenching melons, the season's first figs, apricots, plums, nectarines and succulent peaches all jostling for position as the stars of the show..

At the height of summer, nothing beats the succulence of sweet, aromatic Mediterranean peaches, bursting with flavour. This juicy, plump, orange-yellow skinned fruit provides delicious eating and can be used in so many different and interesting ways. They can be poached in sugar syrup with cinnamon, vanilla and cloves, roasted with cardamom or pan-fried and caramelised with brown sugar and almonds. Peaches are perfect partners for champagne, cassis and calvados. They also work really well with ginger, lemons, oranges, strawberries and hazelnuts. Pan-fried foie gras or roast duck are amazingly good with glazed peaches and sweet and sour peach chutney can really liven up cold meats, pâté and salads.

The peach originated in china and was transported along the silk route to Persia then into Europe some 2000 years ago. Peaches grow on deciduous trees belonging to the rose family and related to the almond. Alexander the great introduced them to Greece and Rome where it was known as the queen of fruits.

Peaches stop ripening when picked, so it is important to select firm, ripe fruit with a good fragrance. Make sure that they are unblemished, not too hard and don't buy more than you plan to use, as fresh peaches are highly perishable and spoil easily. Reject fruits that are mushy or have shrivelled skins, both signs of decay.
High in energy with no fat, peaches are a good source of vitamin C and contain an important vitamin A called beta-carotene. Before eating peaches whole, wash the fruit under cold running water; if refrigerated, let them warm to room temperature for optimum flavour. Peaches do not need to be peeled before eating. However, if you want to peel them, blanch them first by dropping them into boiling water for a minute, then cooling them in ice water; the skins will slip off easily. Rub the peeled fruits with lemon juice to keep them from darkening. Cooking softens peaches and enhances their sweetness. It can also salvage slightly under ripe fruit.

If you're looking for a refreshing summer cocktail to cool yourself down in the intense summer heat, then check this out. Throw a chopped, bordering on over-ripe, peach into a blender with a little vodka. Add a small amount of peach liquor and a glass of well chilled champagne or cava. Blend and pour into martini glasses. This thirst quenching cocktail is called "Bellini", and was invented in Harry's bar, Venice around 1934.

At Simply Fosh, I have just added Roasted Peaches with orange blossom & almond ice cream to our new dessert menu. It's such a simple dessert in essence, but the flavours work so well together and if the peaches are perfectly ripe, you can't fail.
The popularity of a lighter style of eating coupled with the growing interest in healthy food has contributed to the increasing use of fresh fruit in our daily diet, but few can beat the big taste, aroma and succulence of the mighty peach, Queen of Fruits.

Recipes by Marc Fosh

Share this Article

del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Facebook  StumbleUpon  GoogleBookmark  Technorati  Furl