Summertime in Georgia is full of many things. It’s full of swimming, sunbathing, hiking and vacationing. It’s full of baseball games, soccer matches, picnics in the parks and milkshakes on the patio of your luxury Atlanta apartments.
But there’s also one other thing summer in Georgia is special for: summer in Georgia is peach season!
It’s no secret to any of you that Georgia is known as the Peach State. If you live in our luxury Buckhead apartments, then you probably drive up and down Peachtree Road every day. In fact, there are 71 streets named “Peachtree” in Atlanta alone (as of 2013)! The peach is also featured on practically any Georgia-themed memorabilia at every tourist destination in the state. The peach is a big deal here in Georgia, and we feel just peachy about it.
Why is Georgia the Peach State?
In the mid-nineteenth century, a Belgian father and his son bought an orchard in Augusta, which would later come to be known as Fruitland Nurseries. This is the same Fruitland that makes the Fruitland Augusta Vodka & Tea, by the way, and it’s now the site of the famous Augusta Country Club. Use that for your next trivia night! The Beckermans, the Belgians, wanted to start a fruit and ornamental plant industry in the South; specifically, they wanted to create a peach industry. This is where the commercial peach industry really took off, even though the peach had technically been growing in the area since the 1700s.
The peach, which was brought over to North America from Asia in the 16th century by Franciscan monks, was seen as an exotic and ‘oriental’ fruit, and the public found the fruit fascinating because of it. Peach festivals started popping up all over the place as the peach industry became a larger and larger part of the Georgia economy. By 1928, over 8 million bushels of peaches were being harvested and sold every year. Peaches grown in Georgia were and are still known for their flavor, quality, texture and nutrition.
The peach became so popular, in fact, that other states started their own peach farms. This meant that Georgia no longer held the monopoly for peach production, and peach exports began to decline.
Even though Georgia is no longer the largest peach-producing state in the U.S. (California is!), the state was officially named as ‘The Peach State’ in 1995, and the peach became the official state fruit that same year.
In honor of the juicy Georgia peach, we’ve found some great Georgia peach recipes you can make this summer. So stop by one of those fruit stands on the roadside, grab a bushel of peaches and head home to try these tasty recipes!
Georgia peach recipes
Georgia peach martini
If you’re in the mood for a refreshing martini and a serving of fresh fruit, then this homemade peach martini is what you have always been looking for. Using fresh, juicy peaches is the best way to get all the flavor out of this tasty drink.
Baked peaches
Baked peaches are so incredibly easy, it’s ridiculous. Slice, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake. Voila! These are great with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Peach pie
You can’t have a Georgia peach recipe list without some Georgia peach pie. Those are the rules! Pies don’t have to be complicated to be tasty, and this is a great example of how to make this Southern staple.
Peach, basil and mozzarella flatbread
The combination of sweet peach and creamy mozzarella makes this uncommon recipe one for the books. Using fresh peach, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil will make all the difference in the world.
Fresh peach lemonade
Hot Georgia days call for cool peach lemonade. Use fresh lemons and fresh peaches to get the most flavor out of this refreshing drink. Plus, you could add some sparkling water to it to make a tasty peach lemonade spritzer, too!
Blueberry peach tart with vanilla glaze
Georgia produces three times as many blueberries as it does peaches, so why not combine the two Georgian fruits into one fresh recipe? With this tart, you get all the flavor and taste of a pie, but with only half the effort, so it’s a great recipe to whip up for breakfasts, brunches, parties and more!
Fresh peach sorbet
The best part about using fresh fruit rather than canned fruit is that there are no added sugars or sweeteners. What you pick from the tree is what you get. This fresh peach sorbet is dairy-free, sugar-free and gluten-free, making it a perfect guilt-free, refreshing sorbet!
Peach jam
It happens to all of us. Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and we buy way too many peaches from that fruit stand (after all, they were such a great price). Now you’re left with a bucket full of peaches, and you just can’t manage another bite before they go bad.
The solution? Make some jam!
Making jam is not hard, and it doesn’t take all that many ingredients, either. Plus, if you have too much jam (no such thing), you can give little jam jars as gifts for birthdays, housewarming parties and more!
Peach salsa
Taco night will never be the same after you give this fresh peach salsa a try! All you need are peaches, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime and jalapenos. This salsa is great for chicken tacos and fish tacos, and it also works great as a topping on grilled salmon.
We hope you enjoy these Georgia peach recipes, and we hope that you share with us how they turn out!
Have fun!
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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/Couleur
Colleen Ford is a South African who now lives on Oahu in Hawai'i. She loves to travel, camp, spearfish and hike. She's also part of a super cool canoe club and is pretty decent at it. Colleen enjoys Star Wars and also not being cold ever.
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