A Great Tasting Peach Is A Complicated Endeavor
January 28, 2016 
Bill Shane
Everyone loves a great-tasting peach, but selecting the right variety to grow from a nursery catalog is not easy. Taste is personal and cultural. Fuzzy skin is enjoyable for some people, or a strong turn-off for others. A typical high-acid peach common in the U.S. can be a taste shock to someone from Japan or China accustomed to a mild, low-acid peach. To further complicate the situation, how a peach is grown and harvested can affect peach flavor.
Some late-season varieties can develop fibrous flesh around the pit. (Photo credit: Bill Shane)
Great Taste Is Not Always Enough
The right peach variety depends on whether the peach is eaten fresh or processed. Peach varieties like ‘Redhaven’ with a relatively high sugar/acid balance and semi-coarse texture are great for fresh market consumption but, like most melting flesh peaches, soften quickly and becoming ragged-looking in the canning jar.
Peaches that do best for commercial and home-canning market are those varieties like ‘Babygold’ or ‘Loring’ with a firm- and fine-textured flesh that retains firmness in liquid.
Fine-textured firm varieties are prized for canning, but do not necessarily have the juicy quality that fresh market consumers are looking for. A less juicy, but relatively crunchy peach, such as the new variety ‘Gloria’ from New Jersey, is what might be called a commuter peach — one that can be eaten in a car without dripping on clothes. ‘Gloria,’ on the other hand, although firm and freestone, is less suited for home canning because the peel is hard to remove.
Know When to Hold Them
Non-melting flesh peaches such as the ‘Babygold’ series are strongly clingstone peaches, meaning the pit adheres tightly to the flesh. These are the peaches commonly found as slices in salad bars because of their ability to remain firm when canned.
When some varieties are stored incorrectly, they will develop a mealy, dry texture. (Photo credit: Bill Shane)
This type of peach works well in early season varieties and in warmer climates since the firm flesh allows the fruit to be left on the tree to develop full flavor. On the other hand, non-melting flesh peaches can develop unpleasant melon-like flavors if overmature.
One of the marks of a good flavored peach variety is “hanging ability.” Many peaches taste good when sampled at the peak of flavor, but fewer are palatable when past their prime.
Part of the reason for the popularity of ‘Redhaven,’ ‘Loring,’ and ‘Bellaire’ is their retention of flavor when very soft. Firm-flesh peaches, such as ‘PF23’ and ‘Victoria,’ may tempt some growers to delay picking too long, and run the risk of overmature flavors.
Mealy flesh texture is also a problem of some late season, slow-softening peach varieties. This can be particularly troublesome if the grower tries to extend his peach season by storing a large quantity of the last peach variety of the season.
String Theory
A peculiarity of some peach varieties is what I call “pineapple flesh.” This is where the flesh surrounding the pit is somewhat fibrous or stringy, much like a pineapple, although the rest of the peach has a normal melting flesh characteristic. This is a characteristic of some later season varieties such as ‘Autumn Star,’ ‘Cresthaven,’ and ‘PF Big George.’
Some peach varieties have ragged-textured flesh when picked very ripe and when canned. (Photo credit: Bill Shane)
Late season peaches, with some exceptions, tend to have a somewhat crunchy texture and less juicy than earlier season varieties, but still very tasty.
Seeing Red
The search for redder-skin peach varieties has been both a blessing and a curse for the peach industry. A peach that has more red skin is often thought by consumers to be sweeter.
I have heard from growers about customers who have waited in vain for a bicolored peach sitting on their kitchen counter to turn all red.
Some dark skin varieties will develop red flesh in some years, due to hot conditions or late-season applications of fungicide. (Photo credit: Bill Shane)
Workers tend to pick highly red-skinned varieties such as ‘Blazingstar’ and ‘Flamecrest’ when immature.
Experienced pickers look for fruit peaches that are filled out, with the two halves on either side of the suture ridge more or less equal.
During unusually hot conditions some varieties can develop objectionable levels of red flesh, especially if treated with the fungicide Captan close to harvest.
Peaches with high levels of red flesh may have a tendency toward red juice, considered less than wonderful in a pie, or eventual browning when canned. On the other hand, a variety exhibiting medium red blush may be picked too late, if the grower waits too long for better color.
Finally, the best way to learn about a new variety is to see the fruit on the tree. Planting an orchard is an expensive and long-term investment. Visiting variety trials and showcases is well worth the time. Even better is to plant a trial on your own land or in collaboration with a neighbor to gain firsthand experience.
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