‘The first taste of a peach announces summer has arrived,” wrote peach grower David Mas Masumoto in The Perfect Peach, the new book he wrote together with members of his family.For me eating a ripe, juicy peach has always been one of the joys of the warm season.As a child I preferred to eat my peaches raw and so I wasn’t very pleased when my mother baked peach pies. I wanted to be sure there were enough peaches left for me to enjoy in their fresh, pristine state.Peach blintzes appealed to me more than pies, probably because their peach filling cooked only briefly, and the fruit kept more of its natural flavor.Years later, in cooking school in Paris, I learned to make crepe fillings from peaches sauteed lightly in butter and sugar. The buttery, sweet flavor acquired by the fruit seemed a fair trade-off for the softening of the fruit’s texture.Peaches are probably of Chinese origin. According to Dianne Onstad, author of Whole Foods Companion, in China peaches are “the symbol of immortality” because of the story that in a mythical garden, the Peach Tree of the Gods “bloomed only once every three thousand years, to yield the ripened Fruits of Eternal Life.”I have not come across Chinese dishes that use peaches. The steamed peach buns I’ve tasted have peaches only in their name; these yeast-risen buns are colored pink and shaped like peaches but don’t contain any of the fruit. My friend and guide on a gastronomic trip to the Far East, cookbook author Nina Simonds, came up with a peach-flavored congee, or Chinese breakfast rice porridge, embellished with diced peaches that were cooked in cinnamon ginger syrup.Whether you prefer yellow or white peaches is a matter of taste. According to the Masumotos, “yellow-flesh peaches have more acid and thus taste tangy compared with the sweet subacid nectar of white-flesh peaches... Where your peaches fall on the sweet-tart spectrum will dictate how much sweetener (sugar, honey, other) and/or acid (lemon juice, lime juice, other) you will need to add to a recipe.”Some peaches are juicier than others. The degree of juiciness will determine how much thickener, such as flour or cornstarch, you will need to add to fillings for pies, cobblers and other baked treats.To store peaches, leave them out at room temperature in a dry area. Ideally they should not touch one another. When they are ripe enough, store them in the refrigerator.The Masumotos have developed a “peach vocabulary” to describe the different degrees of ripeness of a peach according to feel. A peach that is hard probably should not have been picked. It will be crunchy and have no sweetness. If this is the only peach you have, cook it with extra sugar and more flavorings, they advise. A firm peach may be ready in a few days. A peach with give absorbs subtle pressure when squeezed, and is ideal for baking but is best left out for a day or two for eating fresh. A soft peach is ready to eat fresh.A peach that the Masumotos call “gushy” or a “gusher” is one “that you want to eat right now over the kitchen sink... These are the ones we fight over on the farm.” PEACH CREPES WITH HONEY The natural flavor of fresh peaches is highlighted in this simple dessert, for which they are sliced and cooked briefly with butter and honey, then used to fill the crepes.First the peaches need to be peeled by being boiled very briefly in water and cooled in ice water. With some kinds of peaches, you can skip this step. Sometimes you can cut into a ripe peach at its tip and pull the skin off with your fingers or with the aid of a good paring knife. If you substitute nectarines for the peaches, you can skip the step of peeling the fruit.Serve the crepes on their own or accompanied by creme fraiche, sour cream or vanilla or peach ice cream.Makes 4 servings.8 Dessert Crepes (see recipe) 4 medium peaches (about 450 grams or 1 pound) 3 1⁄2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, divided 2 Tbsp. honey 2 tsp. sugarPrepare Crepes. Preheat oven to 175ºC (350ºF).To peel peaches: Put peaches in a saucepan of boiling water and heat for 30 seconds. Transfer peaches to a bowl of cold water and peel them with aid of a paring knife. Cut them in thin wedges about 1.2 cm. (1⁄2 inch) wide at widest point, cutting inward toward pits. Reserve 8 slices for garnish.Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet, add peaches and mix gently. Add honey and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes or until peaches are barely tender. Remove from heat.Put 5 or 6 peach slices, with a little of their honey, near edge of each crepe. Roll them up and arrange in a buttered, shallow baking dish. Dot crepes with remaining 11⁄2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 5 minutes to heat through. Serve on hot plates, garnished with reserved peach slices.DESSERT CREPES You can keep the crepes, covered tightly, for 3 days in the refrigerator; or you can freeze them.Makes enough crepes for 4 servings.1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour 1⁄4 cup whole wheat flour or additional all-purpose flour 1⁄2 tsp. salt 1⁄2 tsp. sugar, to taste 2 large eggs, or 1 egg and 1 egg white 3⁄4 to 1 cup milk or soy milk 2 Tbsp. melted butter or vegetable oil 2 to 3 tsp. vegetable oil, for greasing the pan Sift together both types of flour, salt and 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar. In a blender combine eggs, 3⁄4 cup milk and flour mixture. Blend on high speed about 1 minute or until batter is smooth. Strain batter if it is lumpy. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or up to 1 day.Stir batter well. Gradually whisk in melted butter. Batter should have consistency of whipping cream. If it is too thick, gradually whisk in water, about 1 teaspoon at a time.Heat a crepe pan or skillet with a 15-cm (6-inch) base, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with few drops of water; when pan is hot enough, water should sizzle immediately. Brush pan lightly with oil. Remove pan from heat and quickly add 2 tablespoons batter to one edge, tilting and swirling pan until base is covered with a thin layer of batter. Immediately pour any excess batter back into bowl.Return pan to medium-high heat. Loosen edges of crepe with a metal spatula, discarding any pieces clinging to sides of pan. Cook until bottom browns lightly. Slide spatula under crepe and turn carefully. Cook until second side browns lightly in spots. Slide crepe onto a plate. Reheat pan a few seconds. Continue making crepes, stirring batter occasionally. If first crepes are too thick, whisk a teaspoon of water into batter. Adjust heat and add more oil to pan if necessary. Pile crepes on a plate as they are done.PEACH COBBLER This recipe is from The Perfect Peach by Marcy, Nikiko and David Mas Masumoto. The filling has a range of sugar because the amount to use depends on the sweetness of the peaches. If you like, serve the cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream or softly whipped cream.Makes a 23-cm (9-inch) square cobbler; serves 9 Filling: 5 cups peeled and sliced peaches with give, or frozen peaches 1⁄3 to 2⁄3 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1⁄4 tsp. salt Batter: 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour 1⁄3 cup sugar 1⁄2 tsp. baking powder 1⁄4 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 egg, lightly beaten 1⁄4 tsp. pure almond extract Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF). Have ready a 23- cm (9-inch) square baking dish.To make the filling: In a bowl, combine the peaches, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt, using the later amount of sugar if you peaches aren’t very sweet. If the peaches are not juicy, add 1⁄4 cup water. Pour the filling into the baking pan.To make the batter: In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, egg and almond extract. Stir together with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until the batter is smooth.Drop spoonfuls of the batter on top of the fruit, forming 9 spoonfuls in all and spacing them evenly over the fruit. The batter will be very thick but will spread during baking.Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the fruit is tender and topping is golden and springs up after touching.(You can test it as you would a cake.) Remove from the oven and let cool before serving. The filling will set as the cobbler cools.Serve warm or at room temperature.Faye Levy is the author of Fresh from France: Dessert Sensations.
