I’m an avid checker on Facebook with local events since I’m terrible at making plans. We’re a spur of the moment, let’s do this today kind of family. So, when I saw that the Peach Truck Tour was coming into town for two days, I hit the “interested” button to keep it popping up in my feed. I’ve never met anyone who buys peaches from the Peach Truck nor tasted a peach from them so I thought I’d give it a try! Here’s what I learned.
What is the Peach Truck tour?
If you’ve never heard of The Peach Truck, they are a Nashville-based company that partners with farms in Fort Valley, Georgia to sell Georgia peaches. Husband and wife team, Stephen and Jessica Rose, runs the company. Every summer, they tour through several states (Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas and Florida), selling their products off a huge peach truck. These tours begin in June and end in early August. Their official mascot, (super cute) Oreo the Bunny, rides with them.
They share their story in a brand new cookbook, which you can purchase on the Peach Truck website, on the tour and in bookstores. I purchased a copy when they came back into town a second time and it was on sale for $20, after hitting some best-seller lists. For those of you who are not lucky enough to have the tour come to your town, their peaches are available for mail order. You’ll be paying more for them this way, though. In Nashville, they sell their peaches all over town in farmer’s markets and various locations all summer long.
How was my experience with the Peach Truck?
Since I didn’t know anyone who had purchased peaches from the Peach Truck, I didn’t have any expectations. The truck only sold for two hours the days they were coming to my hometown. So, I figured I should get there early! By the time I arrived, there was already a huge line at 7:45 am on a very rainy day. Armed with a raincoat, I parked and got into the line, hoping there was a system in place to make this go fast.
I’m happy to report that even with the huge line, my wait only took about ten minutes! There were two people walking down the line with cell phones, charging everyone for their requests. You can only pay with credit card; something I didn’t have a problem with since they said it was safer for their employees to travel cashless. That makes sense. After paying, they hand you a cute, retro token for your purchase(s) and you walk up to the guy standing by the stack of pallets. After you hand in your tokens, they hand you your purchase. Besides 25 pound boxes of peaches, they were also offering Georgia pecans and the new cookbook. I found the entire experience to be fun, painless and the employees super friendly and helpful. I think I’ve been converted.
How did the peaches taste?
I would 100% recommend the fruit from the Peach Truck. They are exactly what a summer peach should taste like, if you were in the orchard and biting into a ripe peach on a sunny day. I’d describe the taste as molten, juicy, peach sunshine. I tasted one immediately as I got back into my car and was surprised to find that the peaches weren’t ripe. I thought these were going to be, for some reason. As I perused the “Proper Peach Care” card that I was handed with my box, it said to allow the peaches to ripen at room temperature, laid out in a single layer to prevent bruising. I did so and was happy to find that the peaches were perfect after two days. Once ripe, you can store them in the fridge for about a week.
After that, it was a free-for-all of peach eating and cooking and giving some away to lucky family members and friends. Even so, I had some left over that I didn’t want to go to waste. So I decided to freeze them for later use, according to their instructions online. It was easy and I’m glad to know I have a stockpile for later. I’ll probably be experimenting with some recipes from The Peach Truck Cookbook soon, which looks very interesting. I can tell it’s going to be a fun and delicious read!
How to Freeze Ripe Peaches
Ingredients
- 8-10 peaches, ripened
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp sugar (for every 8-10 peaches)
Method
- Place a large pot of water to boil and fill a large bowl with water and ice.
- Cut a small X into the bottom of each peach, trying not to cut into the flesh.
- Drop the peaches into boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove and place into ice water. Allow to cool.
- Once cool, remove from ice water and peel the peaches, starting at the bottom where you cut the X. The skins will come off easily.
- Slice peaches into wedges (whatever size you prefer) and mix with lemon juice and sugar.
- Place peaches into freezer bag sizes of your choice (measuring out the amount in each bag will be helpful for later use in recipes).
- Press out air and seal. Label with date and quantity. Place bags onto a sheet pan so they lay flat and freeze.
- Once frozen, remove sheet pan and store in freezer for up to 12 months.
Notes
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I hope you shared this with the Peach Truck!!!
I did 🙂
23.5 lbs. Not 25 lbs. Do the math. Pathetic.
I’m sorry. I’m really not sure what you are referring to? A box of peaches?
You’re talking about 1 1/2 lbs right? what’s that? Like 3 or 4 peaches? Don’t be a dick. You’re the pathetic one.
It’s not 1/2 teaspoon sugar per peach, it’s per 8-10 peaches. Don’t want people to ruin their peaches.
Thanks for catching that! Recipe edited.
Wow. Greg sure is a peach.
This was a great recipe, and I love this truck – thanks for helping me out!
I love this truck too!! Glad to help!
My first time going to the peach truck after hearing about it for two years. Will be there when they return next year! Thanks for the freezing instructions! Made cobbler today. Will freeze the rest.
Yum! Peach cobbler sounds perfect! Glad you found the post useful. Cheers!
I aren’t they too juicy for vacuum sealing? What if I freeze slices on cookie sheet first, then vacuum seal!!!
Thank you
You do get some juice in the channel where you seal the bags. I just angle the bag so it’s hanging down the edge of the counter so not so much gets out. Whatever juice does get out, I just wipe it with a towel.
You could freeze the slices first. Maybe sprinkle the fruit with “fruit fresh” aka citric acid to help prevent it from browning first? Hope this helps!