Baked Peaches

When peaches are to be baked, select large firm ones. Wash them thoroughly and cut them into halves, removing the stones.

Place the peaches in a shallow pan, fill the cavities with sugar, and dot the top of each half with a thinly drop of butter.

Set in the oven and bake until the peaches become soft.

Serve hot or cold, either with or without whipped cream, as desired.


NOTE: You can use baked peaches as a base for peach cake. Any sponge cake will do, just use your favorite recipe or buy your favorite store brand. If you are using baked peaches for cake, you will need to remove skins.


TIP: The skins may be removed by blanching the peaches in boiling water or peeling them with a sharp knife.




Real Cooking
Did You Know?
Important historical peach-producing areas are China, Iran, France, and the Mediterranean countries like Italy, Spain and Greece. More recently, the United States (where the three largest producing states are California, South Carolina, and Georgia, Canada (British Columbia), and Australia (the Riverland region) have also become important; peach growing in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario, Canada, was formerly intensive but ended in 2008 when the last fruit cannery in Canada was closed by the proprietors.

Oceanic climate areas like the Pacific Northwest and coastline of North Western Europe are generally not satisfactory for peach-growing due to inadequate summer heat, though they are sometimes grown trained against south-facing walls to catch extra heat from the sun. Trees grown in a sheltered and south-facing position in the southeast of England are capable of producing both flowers and a large crop of fruit.