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As many of you know, I’m up in Holmes County, OH, for the summer selling peaches at my grandparents’ roadside peach stand. We’re all from South Carolina, and in the summer we ship South Carolina peaches up to Holmes County, OH, and do wholesale and retail. Actually the retail stand where I work is a pretty small part of the business, but it gets us into the community and gives the people of Holmes County good peaches. Because we all know that all good things come from South Carolina. (PS – if you’re from the area you can like The Peach Barn on Facebook to get variety updates).
We deal with one orchard in South Carolina (it’s located about an hour from where my grandparents live, and we’ve become good friends with the owners and management) all summer long and get probably 20 different varieties over the summer. They’re all great peaches, and they’re all sweet and juicy – they just ripen at different times so we have to give them different names. There are some flavor nuances that vary from variety to variety, but all are great peaches (any from the Prince collection are my favorites because they have such great peach flavor as well as sweetness).
Now I realize that a lot of people have bought peaches in grocery stores and have been turned off on them because they never ripen out correctly, aren’t sweet, or get mealy. Therefore, we get a lot of cynics who don’t think it’s possible to buy a sweet, juicy peach anywhere on this planet. Granted, after being in business for 5 years, we don’t get nearly as many cynics as we used to. In fact, we get people in at the stand every day who tell us that our stand is the only place they’ll buy peaches because they’re always good here. The orchard we work with (and we ourselves) are committed to excellent peaches, so we pick them when they’re about 4-5 days away from ripening, ship them immediately, then keep them at room temperature to start ripening them out. Never put a ripening peach in the refrigerator after you buy it! That’s what makes them mealy, and that’s why a lot of peaches from grocery stores are gross. They’re refrigerated much too long. After the peaches are fully ripe, you can refrigerate them for 7-10 days to keep them fresh, but don’t do it before they’re ripe.
With all that background in mind, I can sympathize with the people who come to our stand and don’t want bad peaches yet another time. Some of the same old refrains get old after awhile. Some are just plain funny and keep us entertained:
1) Are these peaches any good? Um, no. We sell awful peaches.
2) Are these stone free? I have never heard of a peach without a stone. If you mean free stone (where the stone easily comes out), then yes: all of our peaches are free stone.
3) I only can/freeze Contenders/Red Haven/Baby Gold. There are much better varieties available. You like those varieties because they’re firm and don’t turn brown. Well, we have other great varieties that also don’t turn brown, hold up well for both freezing and canning (as long as you don’t cook the snot out of them in the pressure cooker), AND taste better. Keep an open mind.
4) I need ripe peaches for supper tonight.  So you didn’t think to plan ahead, then blame me for not having ripe peaches? We try NOT to keep ripe peaches around because they get bruised much more easily here than on your counter at home.
5) If they’re not local, I don’t want them. They’re local for me.
Disclaimer: this was not meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. If you’ve come to the peach stand and asked me these questions, don’t feel bad. I understand where you’re coming from. Just laugh at yourself (and me) and drop by again for more good peaches.
A day at The Peach Barn may be exhausting, but it’s never dull. Not a day goes by that I don’t tell myself, “It takes all kinds to make the world go ’round.”
Pam Thompson says
Peaches are one of my favorite fruits but it is really hard to find good ones in Minnesota. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Briana Thomas says
Well, I’m from South Carolina, so I’m afraid I’m not familiar with what’s available in Minnesota.
Paula says
Brianna, I have to ask…we moved to NC two years ago from Nashville, OH. We bought produce and peaches from a stand outside Millersburg on Rte 39, on the Nashville side and also at a large produce stand toward Berlin (Miller’s?) Wondering if maybe pur paths have crossed…
Briana Thomas says
Could be! The Peach Barn is an open-air, Swiss-style wooden building between Berlin and Millersburg. I was there for part of the summer in 2011, 12, and 13, and then I was there for the whole summer in 2015. 🙂
Susan says
Just learning to like/use/buy peaches for a few years. Thanks for the refrigerating tips, I’ll try to remember.
Christine says
I was wondering what you use to can your peaches? We have only used sugar in the paste, but I am new to THM and would love to be able to preserve my peaches! Thanks
Briana Thomas says
Hi Christine! I actually have not canned peaches since being on THM, but I’ve been wondering that very thing myself. Personally, I’d probably just try canning them without any sweetener at all and see what happens.
Christine says
If you do try, please do a post! I’m in Maine so ours won’t be ready for awhile, but maybe I will try too!
Vin says
Where in Holmes Co? I’m head’n that way tomorrow from Sarasota!
Briana Thomas says
We’re located on SR 39 between Berlin and Millersburg. The address is 5841 SR 39, Millersburg, OH 44654
Cheryl Smith says
Oh, my! It sounds like you have quite the daily adventures, Briana! Thanks for sharing here. 🙂
Lina says
I wish I lived next door to you Briana! I’d be eating those peaches at every interval……