Just peachy!

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 16

Just peachy!

"King John was not a good man, And no good friends had he, He stayed in every afternoon, But no-one came to tea. And round about December, The cards upon his shelf Which wished him lots of Christmas cheer And fortune in the coming year Were never from his near and dear But only from himself.” A. A. Milne’s poem was one of the delight's of my childhood: the poignancy of someone reduced to writing Christmas cards to himself missed me then; now it seems like a symbol for the loneliness of Christmas for those without families, friends or funds to share. The King John of my history lessons was so tied up with the signing of the Magna Carta, I only recently heard of his other claim to fame: he is said to have died from eating too many peaches. This is odd, because for the Chinese, at any rate, peaches have long been a symbol of immortality. A steamed roll in the shape of a peach, called Shoutao, meaning “long life peach"; is apparently still served on birthdays, and friends traditionally give each other peaches, real or in porcelain, as a sign of their affection. This veneration for the peach may have something to do with its ancient and peculiarly Chinese character, according to Waverley Root’s encyclopedia of food. References to it may go back as far as 2000 BC and certainly three centuries before it was heard of anywhere else. Waverley Rot believes China is also the only country where peaches grow wild. For a long time, peaches were thought to have come from Persia: the scientific name is Prunus persica because it was from Persia that the ancient Romans imported the fruit, and from the Romans that Westerners first heard about it. Waverley Root records that Louis XIV of France found peaches so irresistible he bit into them without peeling them, ignoring the unpalatability of their fuzzy skin. Louis once granted a pension to a man who provided his table with particularly fine peaches. A good, fresh peach is indeed irresistible. If you don’t feel like sinking your teeth into them like Louis XIV, I recommend Elizabeth David’s recipe for peaches in white wine. She suggests the yellow-fleshed variety is best. Simply dip the fruit into boiling water so that the skins can be easily pealed off and slice the peaches straight into big wine glasses. Sprinkle with sugar and pour a tablespoon or two of white wine into each glass. Don’t prepare them too long in advance or the fruit will go mushy. If you want a more substantial dessert, this Italian dish is truly luxurious. Pesche Ripiene (stuffed peaches) For four peaches you need: 4 macaroons strip of candied peel 2 tablespoons granulated sugar y 2 glass white wine 50g almonds Crumble the biscuits, chop a small piece of candied peel finely, skin and pound the almonds. Blanch and skin the peaches and cut them in halves.

Remove the stone. Scoop out some of the flesh and mix it with the biscuits, peel, almonds and a little sugar. Stuff the peaches with this, fitting the halves together so that they look whole. '

Put them in a fireproof dish. Mix the rest of the sugar with the wine and pour it over the peaches. Cook in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes: Serve hot or cold.

MAVIS AIREY continues her “Sweet Fruits of Summer” series with a paean to the irresistible peach.

wo-thi inis life size . i PEACH -PEREGRINE' la. ■ Blossom .2 PEACH ROCHESTER’ 3 NKTARINH ’LORD NAPIER’ J ’ ' 4 APRICOT’MOORPARK’ 4a Blossom Peaches galore ... Illustration from “The Oxford Book of Food Plants,” published by the Oxford University Press.