Peach – healthy, fruity and low in calories

Not only its soft skin and the pleasant scent, but also the sweet  taste  make the peach a popular treat. Especially in summer and early autumn, the fruit is often eaten raw or as part of various dishes or drinks. No wonder, after all, a fresh peach with its high water content is a perfect refreshment. How healthy is a peach, what nutritional value does the stone fruit offer and how many calories does it contain? This as well as tips for preparation and delicious peach recipes can be found in this article.

Peach: Calories and Nutritional Facts

Despite its sweet taste, a peach is surprisingly low in fructose and calories. This is due in particular to the high water content of the fruit, which is around 87 percent. This also affects the calorie content.

An average peach weighs about 110 grams. There are about 42 kilocalories (kcal) in 100 grams of peach  ,  i.e. about 176 kilojoules. 100 grams of peaches also contain only about  1.2 grams of fructose.  For comparison: an average  apple  contains around 5.7 grams of fructose per 100 grams, the same amount  of grapes  as much as 7.6 grams.

The fat content of stone fruit is correspondingly low: 100 grams of peaches contain just  0.1 grams of fat.  In addition, the fruit provides about  0.8 grams  of protein  and  8.9 grams  of carbohydrates .

How healthy is a peach?

In addition to the low calorie content, there is a lot more that makes the peach a healthy summer snack.

The following vitamins and  minerals  are contained in 100 grams of the fruit:

• 10 milligrams  of vitamin C
• 1 milligram  of vitamin E
• 0.9 Milligram  Niacin  (Vitamin B3)
• 149 milligrams  of potassium
• 9 milligrams  of magnesium
• 8 milligrams  of calcium

Peaches also contain vitamins A, B1, B2 and B6 as well as  iron . Peaches also contain the secondary plant substance anthocyanin. Anthocyanin has  an antioxidant effect  and thus has a cell-protecting effect.

Tips on buying and storing peaches

Peaches are in season from July through September. Then you can buy the fruits from European cultivation. Peaches are also available out of season. However, these usually come from North or South African and South American countries. The so-called flat peaches, which are often also sold under the name vineyard peaches, are ready to be harvested a little later – their season lasts from September to the beginning of October.

To determine the ripeness of a peach, you can press lightly against its skin: if it is very hard, the fruit should not be eaten yet, but you can buy it to ripen at home. Very soft fruits with slightly wrinkled skin are often overripe and rot quickly.

After purchase, you should store peaches in a cool, dry place. In general, peaches cannot be stored for long because they quickly become too soft and develop bruises. They should therefore be consumed within a few days.

How do you eat a peach?

When eating, it is advisable to cut the raw peach into slices and eat the individual slices. Since peaches are very juicy, biting into them often results in spills.

If you want to split the peach  ,  you should first carefully cut vertically around the pit (stone). Then the fruit can be broken into two parts, with the stone getting stuck in one of the two halves. From there it can then be easily removed by hand so that the peach can be cut into slices or pieces.

If you want to peel a peach  ,  you should first carve the fruit crosswise. Then pour boiling water over them and let them soak in the brew for a moment. Then you can quench the peach with cold water and easily peel off the peel with a knife. Peeling the peach with a potato peeler is a little less cumbersome, but also a little less smooth-running.

The skin of the peach can be perceived as a nuisance in some dishes, such as on a cake. Basically you can eat them without hesitation. However, as pesticides are often used in conventionally produced fruit, the fruit should be washed thoroughly before consumption.

eat peach kernels?

The pit of the peach should not be eaten. Firstly, peach stones are quite large and difficult to swallow, secondly, the stones contain hydrocyanic acid, which would be released if they were cut.

 Products that contain parts of peach stones, such as peach stone oil or persipan, which is used in some products to replace  marzipan , contain “debittered” peach stones. In these, the hydrocyanic acid was removed as part of a chemical process.

How many peaches can you eat a day?

In principle, there is no upper limit to how many peaches you can eat in a day. The stone fruit contains few calories and many valuable ingredients, so it can definitely be seen as a healthy addition to the diet.

As with most foods, however, the same applies here: Peaches should not be eaten in excess, as they contain a certain amount of fructose and can have a laxative effect to a small extent. However, you are welcome to cover the amount of  250 grams  of fruit per day recommended by the German Society for Nutrition with peaches. Depending on the size of the peach, this corresponds  to about two to two and a half fruits.

There are numerous recipes and ideas for preparing peaches. Below we present some of them.

Make your own peach ice tea

Peach ice tea is a popular refreshment, especially in the warm summer months. With this recipe you can easily make the delicious drink yourself.

ingredients

For half a liter of sugar-free peach ice tea you will need:

• 200 grams of ripe peaches (about two pieces)
• 250 milliliters of water
• 2 bags  of tea , for example black tea or rooibos tea

preparation

How to make the  iced tea  :

1. Wash and stone the peach, then cut into small cubes.
2. Boil the water and pour it over the tea bags (observe the brewing time stated on the pack).
3. Then take out the tea bags and add the peach pieces. When the water has cooled, place the mixture in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.
4. Then pour the iced tea through a sieve into a carafe or pitcher. This way the peach pieces get stuck in the sieve. You can then serve the homemade iced tea with a few egg cubes.

Depending on your personal preferences, you can sweeten the peach iced tea with a little sugar (ideally add the sugar directly when you pour the tea bags over it) or vary the type of tea – green tea  or  fruit tea are also good.

Peach pie made quickly

In winter with canned peaches, in summer with fresh peaches from the market – a fruity peach cake tastes good on every occasion.

ingredients

You need:

• 500 grams peaches (fresh or canned)
• 125 grams of softened butter
• 2  Owner
• 100 grams of sugar
• some  lemon juice
• 200 grams of flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• possibly some  milk
• Powdered sugar for decoration

preparation

In the case of fresh peaches, half a kilo of the fruit should first be skinned. To do this, simply pour boiling water over the fruit as described above so that you can peel off the skin with a knife and then cut the fruit into slices. For canned peaches, you should first drain the  juice  and then slice the fruit if necessary.

Now beat the butter, eggs, sugar and lemon juice with the hand mixer until fluffy. Gradually stir in the flour and baking powder. If the batter is too dry, add a little milk to taste.

Then fill the batter into a greased springform pan and top it with the peach slices. Then you can bake the cake at 190 degrees top and bottom heat for about 30 minutes. Finally, you can serve the cooled peach cake sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Origin and cultivation of peaches

Peaches grow on low trees that belong to the rose family. The plant’s Latin name is Prunus persica, which means “Persian apple”. Although the peach reached Europe via what was then Persia, i.e. today’s Iran, the fruit has its origins in China, where peach trees were cultivated for their beautiful flowers at least 2,000 years ago.

The peach tree loves a mild, sunny climate and deep, nutrient-rich sandy soil. However, the fruits only grow large and beautiful with sufficient watering. The plant is now cultivated in numerous countries on different continents, but the largest peach-growing country is still China.

The main growing areas of peaches in Europe are in Spain, Greece and Italy, but stone fruits are also grown in some regions of Austria (such as Styria) and Germany (such as Rheinhessen or the Palatinate). In general, the peach tree feels at home in temperate wine-growing regions in sunny, windless places. If the location is suitable and appropriately protected in winter, peach trees can also be planted in your own garden or (in the form of a dwarf tree) in a bucket.

There are around 3,000 different types of peaches worldwide, with the hairy peaches, with their soft skin, being distinguished from the harder, smooth-skinned nectarines. In addition, the varieties are divided into red, white and yellow flesh based on the color of their flesh.

A particularly popular type of peach is the flat peach. As the name suggests, flat peaches are a bit flatter than their spherical relatives. They are white-fleshed and taste a little sweeter than other peach fruits.

Peach and Nectarine – what’s the difference?

As already mentioned, the skin of peaches is soft and covered with a light fuzz. The skin of nectarines is smooth and hairless. The typical longitudinal furrow of the peach is also less pronounced. The flesh of the nectarine is usually somewhat firmer and more acidic. Peach and nectarine are closely related: the nectarine is probably a mutation of the peach.