Research Guides Homepage: August 2013 What's Happening @ LWLC : Peach Month

National Peach Month

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Peach Month. However, many consider August to be National Peach Month. Nevertheless, this designation is to recognize how important peaches are to our food supply and our economy.

The three largest producing states are California, South Carolina, and Georgia. Georgia is known as the "Peach State".

China is the world's leading producer of peaches and where peach cultivation began. The U.S. is the third largest producer of peaches after Italy.

Fun Facts

Peaches are a good source of vitamins A, B and C. A medium peach contains only 37 calories.
You can ripen peaches by placing them in a brown paper bag for two to three days. Sliced, fresh peaches should be tossed in lemon or lime juice to prevent browning.
Nectarines are a variety of peach with a smooth skin, not a cross between a peach and a plum.
The juice from peaches makes a wonderful moisturizer, and it can be found in many brands of cosmetics.
A peach pit contains hydrocyanic acid, which is a poisonous substance.
Like the plum and the apricot, the peach is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae), distinguished by its velvety skin. It is classified as a drupe, a fruit with a hard stone.

Fun Stuff:

The term, “you’re a real peach” originated from the tradition of giving a peach to the friend you liked.
Most peaches are cultivated by grafting different combinations of rootstocks to scions.
There are over 700 varieties of peaches-some Chinese varieties are even flat like hockey pucks!
Peaches are the third most popular fruit grown in America.
The United States provides about one-fourth (25%) of the world’s total supply of fresh peaches
The World’s Largest Peach is located in Gaffney, South Carolina, and weighs over 10,000 pounds. The city of Gaffney, near Greenville, built this water tower in the shape of a peach back in 1981.