Posse… I got nothin’ …nothin’ but a kitchen full of peaches! It’s that time of year again – the time I both look forward to – and dread. The Red Haven tree – the first to ripen – has Lost Its Damb MIND! and omg! SO many peaches. I have made peach curd, peach salsa, macerated peaches (for freezing), peach pie… from the first garnet jewels to the ‘omg. MORE?’…
the first beauties
I’m kind of peached-out. But dealing with so many peaches got me to thinking about the actual smell and taste of peaches – and it’s weird, but when I did a deep dive into what I was tasting and smelling it struck me that peaches, like a lot of stone fruits, have a very mutable taste and smell, making me wonder if what I’m smelling and tasting is actually peach – or what I expect a peach to smell and taste like. Sometimes they can smell nearly fetid – and sometimes they smell of nearly nothing! (to be FAIR! this year’s weather didn’t help – we went from a wet Spring (yay!) to 2 months extreme drought/heat (ick) to torrential rains and heat, just as the peaches were ripening. The end result is very juicy peaches with diluted flavor (boo!). The curd I made with perfectly ripe Red Havens (one of the sweetest varieties for this region) and I didn’t want to use a squickton of sugar… it came out fine from a textural standpoint but there was little peach flavor (remember Howard Middleton of GBBO Season 4 and the Peachy Buns that didn’t taste of peach at all? I feel ya, Howard).
oh, Howard
I was approaching despair… then I remembered that I’d bought a beentsy bottle of Aftelier Natural Peach Isolate – I put 2 drops in a small cup of the curd and BOOM! it suddenly tasted of peaches! Naturally, I dropped a few more drops in the rest of the curd and it was perfect. Whatever it is that Mandy conjured either really does amp the peach taste in a peach dish (it didn’t really swoon me when I tasted the isolate on its own)… or something in the scent (?) triggers that scent memory that translates to what I think a peach should taste like.
O.M.G.
Really parsing peach? Peaches taste vaguely…sour. Not in a ‘bad’ way – but like the fetid note that comes in, there’s a sourness/thinness that requires quite a bit of support in order for a dish to taste peachy (think curds/pies/those buns of Howard’s could’ve used a bit of Mandy’s isolate. I would’ve slipped some into my Secret Watch Squirt Compartment (like Undercover Brother with the hot sauce) and just dropped some into the batter when Paul wasn’t looking because, let’s face it, he can be a bit of a dick.
No GBBO for me!
Since peaches have taken over my life these past few weeks I thought I’d look at peach in perfumery (since, after all, it’s PERFUME Posse, not Baking Posse).. as luck would have it, Elena on Fragrantica just reviewed a new peach fragrance Gossip Night by Gritti
photo stolen: fragrantica.com
A very elegant review, it references Peach Melba, Bellinis, cream, a lost perfume love – It was called Croisette; it smelled of peaches in syrup, syrupy tuberose, honey, and venom. And you know she had me at ‘venom’ – but what is interesting is that same ‘syrupy peach v. fresh peach’ conundrum runs through this review, as well. I think it’s because peaches are a pain in the pits when it comes to flavor. Okay – I will stop banging on about that. In fact, I will stop banging on altogether because I have more peaches to process – but I would love to hear what YOU think about peaches (or stone fruit in general) – the scent/taste/texture/etc? How about in perfume? Do you find it an effective statement note in perfumery?
I’ll have M. Jacques poke a pawnail for a sample of the Gritti perfume (I didn’t even know this line existed) – side note, just for giggles: whilst researching peach notes I came upon a perfume called White Side Women by Louis Varel (another House that has eluded me)… I was entranced, thinking it was named after side pieces who happened to be Caucasian. Alas…
Obviously I need to think of better ways to occupy my brain.
surrendertochance.com has Gossip Night (and I’ll throw in Red Deer Grove’s White Peach, Because. I. Can), for the peach tart you’ll have to make it yourself – I’m done!!
I love peaches, in Bellinis or frozen are my favorites now. I am also going to try them in pasta sauce this summer. I had a peach fragrance as a child, Pretty Peach by Avon. I saved the box of dusting powder and the cream sachet jar. I think I will have to sample Mitsouko.
I love peaches!! I had the Aftelier peach isolate years ago which I used in my own essential oil blends. The owner of Kyse perfumes used to have a company called by Terry and she made a gorgeous peach. Also Sarah Horowitz Thran’s former company, Creative Scentualizations made Perfect Peach. And finally The Body Shop Fuzzy Peach perfume oil was lovely.
I love that you are parsing the Peach note today. Peach used to taste like the smell of Elmer’s white school glue in the bottle to me, as a kid. Next scent memory: my BIL gave us a tub of edible Peach flavored body lotion for our honeymoon. Hahaha. And finally, peaches are my husband’s favorite fruit so I buy a few every week all during their season. I can’t eat them cause I have this weird oral allergy syndrome where I’m allergic to fruit with pits. Love the smell of them though.
I know I’ve said this before on here, but one of my vivid memories from childhood is eating my way through a bushel of Georgia peaches bought from a neighbor who trucked them in and stored them in her garage… yum. I’m happy when the summer peaches show up here but glad I’m not dealing with an entire tree or two! I do love them, though, I think they smell and taste amazing.
oh, Mitsouko for peach. Sighhhhh. Another fruit one I love is Lutens Rose de Nuit for that apricot note. I left the strawberries for the birds this year. They had a hard winter. The apples aren’t looking happy, but they did really well last year and I’ve heard they are an every-other-year crop. The hedge row fruit (ie, blackberries) are going mad this year. I plan jam and crumble. They don’t last well and neat to be cooked given who else lives in the hedge rows.
Mitsouko is the only peach notes perfume I own.
We have fruit gluts again this year too. Apples look like they’ll be ready in 4-6 weeks. Cherries picked & went into Barbie Pie. Blackcurrant bush has yielded 6lb from just 1/3rd of the bush!
Peach in perfume seems to be a bit of a theme this summer, LAP have a new one out, A Fleur de Peche. Heard good things but haven’t sniffed yet.
My favourite peach forward scent is MDCI Peche Cardinal, beautiful but fleeting.
I love those flat donut peaches but too often peaches go from sour solids to fluff with mould & no juicy delicious time at all
That’s the problem I have. They should have an alarm that goes off that tell you the 15 minute ripeness window is now open.
Like Philly cheese that you check it ok before you get the crackers & tomatoes out for lunch. Then you get it back out to use & find it has developed pink mould in less than 5 minutes!!!
I have a single note peach perfume and I love it. Fresh peaches and canned peaches are both tasty but very different foods! It is sort of like real banana vs. banana taffy flavor. (I recently bought the Dolly Parton banana cake mix hoping it would have the “faketaffy flavor – happily it did!)
I love fresh peaches but we don’t seem to get good ones here- they just don’t seem to ripen. At least not the ones that I’ve gotten. I’d be wary about consuming essences but I’m a wuss that way. We used to get peaches by the bushel growing up for bottling and did get a little tired of them, but loved having the preserves all winter.
Like Portia, I like canned ones. They’re so, tinny..
Fresh peach with cream is one of my favorite things, and I adore the fragrance. Where I live though, peaches must be trucked in so we only manage to savor them for a short bit in the summer. I have yet not found a peach fragrance long-lasting enough to warrant purchase, it does seem one of those notes that breaks down quickly, but I do have the Gritti on my want-to-try list.
Omg, I love peaches! But they do vary a lot in flavor—and some have very little flavor. I am so jealous you have a lot to work with. I’m not near any peach orchards so I just got a few from the grocery store and they should be ready to eat in a couple of days. Peachy perfume? Mitsouko is all I have.
Hey Musette,
I don’t like fresh peaches but love them from a can. I know, weird right?
The note for peach in perfumery has always smelled canned to me too. All the old faves like Femme and Mitsouko are lovely for me and that’s all the bottles I think I have with peach forward notes.
Weather wise we are having a beautiful warm winter, sitting around 20C/70f. Blue skies and chilly nights. Perfect.
Portia xx
I think the only truly peachy scent I’ve smelled is Keiko Mecheri Peau de Pêche, which was lovely. On an adjacent note is Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Abricot, which I also enjoyed. Haven’t smelled either in many years. I’m guessing peach is a difficult note to replicate.