Peaches On The Pedestal

"An apple is an excellent thing--until you have tried a peach."
So says George du Maurier, (1834-1896) grandfather of Dame Daphne du Maurier.
 I have to say, with the exception of the Honey Crisp apple,
or my mother's apple pie, I agree with him.

But it's summer now, Honey Crisps won't come again until Thanksgiving, and stone fruit is King.
I live in Santa Rosa, CA, home of Luther Burbank, the great American botanist, horticulturalist and agricultural scientist.
He put this city on the map with the Santa Rosa Plum, a plum
so sweet it comes close to but cannot equal the peach.

And the supreme monarch here is the July Flame.
I've never made a peach pie (crumble, yes) but I'm going to try one this year, using this variety.
Peach pie, with my mother's crust and vanilla gelato!
Whoa, decadent breakfast fare. I'm not kidding; cut and reserve one piece, claim presentation excuses, and enjoy this flaming endorphin rush in the morning! Maybe Sunday morning, with coffee and the NY Times. Church.

A lesser known variety is the Donut Peach, or the Saturn Peach,
so named for its shape. Mother Earth News, October/November 2006, has a concise blurb on these peaches, including a top ten list of their attributes. Nowhere on this list does the word 'cute' appear, but they are, (yes?) and kids of all ages love snacking on their almond flavored white flesh.

Speaking of pies, did you know there's an American Pie Council, and a National Pie Day? Really. It's January 23rd of every year, and the APC website has the greatest pie recipes, urging us to remember that all pies are not sweet. True. But at this time of year, peachy is all I want to make.