On the Subject of: Peaches

Now I don’t know if every dog likes a good peach, like I do,  but I think they are Barkolicious.  How did I come to enjoy a good Peach, you ask.  Well, everyday if I eat all of my food, my “D” gives me a treat.  Fresh fruit is good for everyone so one day he gave me a luscious, beautiful, barkolicious, succulent, mouth watering ripe piece of peach and it was love at first sniff.  Ever since that day I have loved peaches.  I just get a few small pieces so as not to upset my stomach and it is really a nice treat.  My  First Birthday is on Tuesday and I really want to get a peach Birthday Cake.  (If my “D” reads my blog, I hope he takes the hint).

Flat or Donut Peach

Now here is something I bet you didn’t know:  Peaches (Prunus persica) are native to China.  I bet you thought New Jersey, WOL.  There are a lot of varieties of Peaches and it would take a long time to tell you about them all, so I won’t in this blog. 

Peach Blossom

The flowers on a peach tree are produced in early spring before the leaves; they are solitary or paired, pink, with five petals. The fruit has yellow or whitish flesh, a delicate aroma, and a skin that is either velvety (peaches) or smooth (nectarines).  The Peach, along with cherries, plums and apricots are stone fruits.  In the human study of plants and flowers, botany, these are called drupes.  Cultivated peaches are divided into clingstone and freestone depending on whether the flesh sticks to the stone or not; both can have either white or yellow flesh. Peaches with white flesh typically are very sweet with little acidity and they are my “D” and my favorite.

The scientific name persica, along with the word "peach" itself, derives from an early European belief that peaches were native to Persia (Iran), however they really came from China and were probably introduced to Persia and the Mediterranean along the silk route before Christian times.  Peaches were mentioned in Chinese writings as far back as the 10th century BC and were a favorite fruit of kings and emperors.  Alexander the Great introduced the fruit to Europe after his conquest of Persia.  United States farmers did not begin commercial production until the 19th century, and the peach was eventually introduced into New Jersey agriculture.   New Jersey State (Jersey Peaches) is the 4th largest peach producer in the country.  The peach season is July to September, unfortunately all the White peaches are gone by September.

Finally, as with many other members of the rose family (yes you heard me bark correctly, the peach belongs to the same botanical family as the rose), peach seeds contain poisonous gynogenic glycosides, which is capable of decomposing into a sugar molecule and hydrogen cyanide gas. While peach seeds are not the most toxic within the rose family, that honor belongs to the bitter almond,  large doses of these chemicals from any source are hazardous to human health and can be fatal to us dogs, so keep the pits in the trash.

There you have it, all about the peach, my favorite treat, and that’s the truth, cross my paws.