Peaches Shouldn't Crunch

Last week one of the restaurants ran out of Michigan peaches. Needing fresh fruit for his peach and blueberry crumble and peach sangria, the chef ordered a case of California grown peaches.When the peaches arrived, we opened the case and found perfect looking fruit.   But where was the sweet scent of our Michigan peaches?  And peaches shouldn’t crunch when you bite into them. This fruit, while it looked perfect, was nothing like the peaches we get from Klug Farms.

Mick’s peaches come in various shapes and sizes.  Some are larger and some have spots on them from harsh spring weather.  When you open a box of Mick’s peaches the first thing you notice is the familiar scent of a ripe peach.  When we buy fruit at the market, our rule is if you can’t taste it, smell it.   Whether its peaches, melons, or mangoes, the fruit should have a sweet aroma.  The flesh should also give slightly with a gentle squeeze. Sometimes peaches need a day or two on the counter to reach their peak.  Finally, when you bite into a ripe peach, the flesh is tender and full of sweet tart juices.  Grab a napkin, juices from a ripe peach should run down your hand.

Our California peaches never made it into the peach and blueberry crumble that day.  We sent them back to the purveyor and the restaurant 86’d peaches for the day.  Mick delivers peaches to our restaurants three times a week. Visit Mick at various farmers markets throughout Chicago and try his peaches at all Chicago Big Bowls.