"Would you like to sample a white peach?" the produce man asked me from my local store in Beaverton, OR, circa 1977. I had never heard of white peaches and I looked at him inquisitively."What are you prejudice?" He said with a grin. He was quite a sweet produce manager. He was Italian and loved what he did. I think he was the local TV produce guy too. I tasted the peach, as I tasted a lot of free samples at that small store. It was sweet and good and I bought a bag of them. That was my first white peach and I have seen them now and again.
We saw them last weekend at Trader Joe's. I bought a small box of 12. We eat a lot of fruits and vegetables but we never finished the box and they are perfectly ripe tonight. I boiled up a pot of water and slipped the peaches gently into the hot water for a few minutes. Then I gently slipped off their skins and sliced them into an 8 inch ceramic dish.
I opened my tattered Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that has seen better days. I got it as a wedding gift from my mother in law for my shower in 1975. It is old, and the pages are worn. It is my favorite book, and for things like crisp and cobblers, pie crust, and biscuits, it is my hands-down favorite book. I knew what recipe I wanted. It was for the crumb topped apple pie. I wanted the crumb recipe. It is simple, just flour, sugar, and butter..and my sugar is aged with a vanilla bean. I whirl it up in a food processor and it easily sprinkles over the sweet and juicy slices of white peaches.
Next, I bake it. The peaches are ripe, sweet, and juicy and I know with the sweet crumbs it will be amazing. Now Wally can't complain that we are wasting peaches. . .now he can have something I know we both love. Nothing better than sweet summer peaches. I can hardly wait!