Peach | OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

What Is a Peach?

A peach is a soft, fuzzy fruit with sweet juicy flesh that ranges from white to golden yellow, sometimes blushed with red. Its scientific name is Prunus persica, which means “Persian plum,” even though the peach actually originated in China. Like cherries and plums, a peach is a drupe, which means it has a single hard pit in the center that protects the seed inside. The velvety fuzz on a peach’s skin is actually made up of tiny hairs called trichomes that help protect the fruit from insects and moisture loss.

Where Peaches Come From

Peaches were first domesticated in China at least 8,000 years ago, making them one of the oldest cultivated fruits in the world. In Chinese culture, peaches have long been a symbol of long life and good fortune, and peach trees appear in many ancient legends and artworks. Traders along the Silk Road carried peaches westward through Persia to Europe, which is how the fruit got its scientific name referencing Persia. Spanish missionaries brought peach trees to the Americas in the 1500s, and the fruit quickly became popular in the warm southern states.

How Peaches Grow

Peach trees need a certain number of cold winter hours, called chill hours, before they can bloom properly in the spring. In early spring, peach trees burst into gorgeous pink blossoms that appear before the leaves, creating one of the prettiest sights in an orchard. After pollination, it takes about three to five months for the fruit to grow, ripen, and become ready for picking. Peach trees begin producing fruit when they are about two to four years old, but they only live for about 15 to 20 years, which is shorter than many other fruit trees.

Peach Varieties

There are two main types of peaches based on how the flesh clings to the pit: freestone and clingstone. Freestone peaches have flesh that pulls away from the pit easily, making them perfect for eating fresh and slicing into salads. Clingstone peaches have flesh that sticks tightly to the pit, and they tend to be juicier and sweeter, which is why they are the preferred choice for canning. Nectarines are actually a type of peach with a smooth skin instead of a fuzzy one, caused by a single gene difference.

Peaches in American Life

Georgia is known as the Peach State and features a peach on its license plates and state quarter, even though California actually grows the most peaches in the United States. South Carolina also claims the peach as an important symbol and is actually a larger peach producer than Georgia. Peaches are enjoyed fresh, baked into cobblers and pies, grilled on the barbecue, and blended into smoothies and ice cream. China remains the world’s largest peach producer by far, growing more than half of all the peaches on Earth.