Red Haven Peaches – Why all the hype?

There are over 2000 varieties of peaches on this planet, so it goes without saying there’s a lot more choice than most of us will every need. One of the most popular peaches remains the The Redhaven – the peach that all other peaches are judged against. A medium fruit with brilliant red over yellow skin; yellow flesh is juicy, sweet, and fine grained. Redhavens are ready for picking around the end of July to the middle of August. It’s important to get them now at the peak of their freshness for maximum flavour, but they do have a relatively long shelf life.

Redhavens fall into the category of freestone peaches meaning you should be able to remove the inner pit without taking half the peach with it. I find this especially useful when using peaches for cooking or canning. It serves as a great peach for canning as the acidity is mid range, they are sweet but not saccharine and are very juicy.

Beware of imposters! Unlike apples, it can be difficult to identify fresh market peach varieties by appearance and taste. This lack of distinctive appearance is perhaps responsible for the intended or unintended deception that occasionally occurs when a sign announces Redhaven Peaches long after that particular variety has been sold out, unlike most peaches Redhaven’s are still known by name.

On that note, visit our farm market this week to taste the real thing!