The fruit of the peach Prunus persica, a deciduous treen is native to China; the first peach orchards in Italy date back to the late 1800s. Peaches are perfect summer fruits, juicy and thirst-quenching capacity, with a water content of 85% and vitamin c.
Their flesh is very sweet and fragrant, in colours ranging from white, yellow or red, a thin velvety or smooth skin which ranges from yellow to carmine-red to salmon; inside is a hard stone.
Peaches can be eaten alone, unpeeled or peeled, but are often used for fruit salads, juices, jams, ice creams, sorbets, cakes and tarts and other desserts.
The Pesca Di Bivona IGP peach is grown in a hilly area in Sicily, in the temperate climate of Bivona, now known as Town of the Peaches. The peaches are medium size, with white and firm flesh, sometimes with pinkish-red veins. Their taste is very sweet and aromatic and their scent quite distinctive. The 4 varieties of these peaches are ripe for harvest between 15 June and 20 October, and they are picked by hand.
The Pesca Di Leonforte IGP peach is also grown in Sicily from two local varieties which ripen late in the year; the peaches are harvested by hand between September and November. It has an intense scent and taste with a very firm flesh. It may be eaten fresh, as well as used for jam, juices, syrups and a local traditional peach cake. An annual festival dedicated to this peach and other typical product is held on the first Sunday in October in the historic centre of Leonforte, built in the 1600s.
