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| The First Peaches |
I picked the first peaches from my tree today. This is an early ripening variety of freestone peach, with the peaches ripening well before the heat of our summer burns them up. But, this might be the earliest I've picked them as I am trying to get to them before the birds get to them! This year's peaches are small in size, but, they are a blessing and I am grateful to have them.
According to a news article I read a couple of days ago, peach farmers in California are considering destroying about 3,000 acres planted with peaches, amounting to some 420,000 clingstone peach trees, because a certain well-known canned fruit company closed its canneries in California, in March of this year, and cancelled more than $550 million in long term contracts with the farmers. The company had filed for bankruptcy last year, in July 2025, due in part to changing consumer habits as more people preferred fresh fruits and vegetable over canned and in part due to rising manufacturing costs.
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| Fresh Peaches |
I agree that there's nothing quite as good as freshly picked peaches, especially when they are from your own tree and still warm from the sun.
According to the news article, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved $9 million dollars in aid to the peach growers to help them destroy the peach trees and transition from growing peaches to other fruits and/or nuts. Which is something, I suppose.
I am guilty of not buying a lot of canned fruits and vegetables for daily consumption, but, I do like to have canned items in the pantry for emergencies. The thought that canned goods might become scarce due to manufacturers going out of business is a bit sobering. We can no longer take it for granted that the stores will always have canned fruit available whenever we want to buy some.
We will definitely enjoy our fresh peaches in the coming days and weeks. And I will try to can and preserve some of them to enjoy later.
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| Yum! |
Today, I am grateful for:
- Fresh peaches from the garden
What a terrible shame to destroy all those peach trees 😟 I can understand that the world is changing but the thought of no canned fruit is worrying in the extreme. I always keep canned fruit in the cupboard and eat canned pears and pineapple regularly for breakfast. Your peaches look gorgeous, so very yummy!
ReplyDeleteAngie
I know, Angie. It's an absolute shame that so many peach trees have to be destroyed because there is no market for the fruit! And the thought of canneries being closed is worrying, too.
DeleteIt makes sense that the canning industries are suffering because of consumer changes of habits, but I don't like the idea that canned food won't be available, either. I remember seeing an exhibit on canneries at a local museum. In the earl 20th centuries, canning was the main way of preserving food. Because transportation was not as easy as today, there were canneries everywhere.
ReplyDeleteYes, businesses have to change due to financial reasons, don't they? Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables are great, but, canned items are shelf stable and more resistant to damage during earthquakes, etc., than glass canning jars. I do hope that other canneries manage to stay open so we continue to have access to canned food!
DeleteI love fresh peaches, but usually keep a couple of cans in the cupboard to make an emergency dessert if visitors turn up
ReplyDeleteFresh peaches are the best, especially when they are homegrown. :) I keep canned fruit and other canned items on hand for emergencies such as major earthquakes when electricity might be off for several days (always assuming one survives such an earthquake). Not only are canned food shelf stable, the cans/tins are more durable than glass jars; they might get dented if they fall from a shelf, but, less likely to break.
DeleteMy dear friend, the peaches look delicious and juicy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. They are delicious, especially when they are freshly picked. :)
DeleteFresh sun ripened peaches from an orchard about 45 minutes away are my favorite fruit
ReplyDeleteYours are gorgeous and might have made my mouth water in anticipation of June.
Fresh peaches are the best, aren't they? We picked a few more, today; they weren't quite as ripe, but, they were still quite delicious. :)
DeleteThose peaches look wonderful. I sometimes enjoy canned fruit in winter. The peaches, and pears, that are brought in out of season are never very good. I particularly like canned when I have a cold and sore throat! Soothing.
ReplyDeleteThe freshly picked peaches from the garden are the best, Celie. I like canned fruit and I lived on those little peach fruit cups when I was undergoing chemo as they were one of the few things I could eat.
DeleteHow lovely the peaches look!
ReplyDeleteI read about the peaches been dumped. That is really sad. Surely they could donate or something though I suppose the cost of trying to harvest might be too much.
Thank you, Sharon. Yes, it is sad that the fruit and the trees have to be destroyed. They should at least have a "pick your own" and charge for the priviledge before they destroy the trees, but, I suppose that is not practical.
DeleteThose peaches look amazing! It isn't anything I've ever thought about, but I don't usually use tinned fruit and veg. Occasionally, I keep tinned peaches in the cupboard for those 'emergency' crumbles :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. It is a good idea to keep a few cans/tins of peaches and other fruit on hand for emergencies. One never knows when a crumble might be needed! :D
DeleteThose peaches look gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteFarmers are getting all sorts of hits. I follow a British farmer on YouTube and he is talking about not planting wheat next year. It makes you realise how precarious things are.
When I was a kid, back in the early 1970s, there was nowhere near the variety that's on the shelves these days, and you couldn't always get a particular item but instead had to get an equivalent or do without. I wonder if we're going back to that.
Thank you, Lyssa. My homegrown peaches have spoilt us! Store bought peaches don't come anywhere near to them when it comes to taste.
DeleteFarmers are definitely having a hard time, aren't they? Fertilizers have increased in price and diesel to operate their machinery have gone up in price, too. California farmers face water shortages and other farmers are dealing with bad weather.
I wouldn't be surprised if we go back to a time when we didn't have as much variety or even quantities of things to buy. Maybe we'll relearn how to eat more seasonally and/or more locally.