PRESS KIT
The Straight Fuzz about California Cling
Peaches
California Cling Peach Industry:
- California accounts for nearly 100 percent
of the commercial production of Cling Peaches in the United States
- Butte, Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, San
Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare and Yuba counties produce
most of the state's Cling Peaches
- California's climate provides an ideal setting
for peach trees, which require a chilling season followed by warmer
days combined with rich soil and adequate water to produce the
most flavorful fruit
- Pruning is usually done in winter, thinning
in spring, to deliver the premium-sized fruit at harvest
- Harvest commences at the end of June in the
San Joaquin Valley to the south and comes to an end after Labor
Day in the Sacramento Valley to the north
- Peach trees are usually planted with a minimum
density of 121 trees per acre, their leaves nearly touching
- Each acre produces an average of 18 tons of
Cling Peaches per year
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Peach History:
- The peach belongs to the rose family
- China is the original home of the peach tree
- California Gold Miners were the first to commercially
farm Cling Peaches
- There are two categories of peaches, Clingstone
and Freestone, distinguished by the ease with which the edible
fruit pulls away from the stone (pit)
- Peaches are widely used in literature, often
associated with romantic references or metaphors
- Almost 100 percent of Cling Peaches are processed
and are rarely found fresh
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Canned Peaches Provide Year-Round Goodness:
- Peaches survive being canned better than most
fruit
- Results of several nutrition studies show
that canned fruits are as nutritious as their fresh and frozen
counterparts
- Canneries operate seven days a week throughout
harvest so that the fruit retains all nutritional value and flavor
- In most cases, peaches are canned within 24
hours of delivery to the processing plant, which insures that
the peaches maintain nutritional value and flavor
- Canned peaches retain vitamins A and C throughout
their canned life
- Most canned peaches have a shelf life of two
years
- Cling Peaches are processed in one of four
ways-sliced, halved, diced or added to fruit cocktail and mixed
fruit
- In 1999-2000, US per capita consumption of
canned peaches was 4.4 pounds
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Nutrition and Flavor:
- California peaches contain Beta Carotene (converted
to vitamin A in the body), essential for the immune system, vision
and healthy skin and teeth
- They contain vitamin C, an antioxidant, which
promotes healing and good vision, boosts the immune system and
builds strong connective tissue to stabilize bones
- Peaches are picked at the height of ripeness
and selected for canning within hours of picking
- Canned Cling Peaches are considered comparable
in nutrition and flavor to their fresh counterparts
- Sweet, juicy and ready to eat, canned California
peaches are an all-American family favorite
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Sources: Foundation for Agriculture in the
Classroom, California Cling Peach Board, The Oxford Companion to Food, USDA,
The Canned Food Alliance, University of Illinois Department of Food Science
and Human Nutrition, USDA Economic Research Service. (For source URLs, see
Industry Resource Guide sheet.) |