Peaches and dreams. That about sums up my experience making this pie. What was intended to be a simple summer pie ended up being a catalyst for summoning some of the best summer memories. As I was preparing my peaches, my mind wandered to the summer I spent working at a local road side fruit stand.
Pa’s Produce was located under a big tent across from a busy gas station at the edge of my small town. I spent that summer learning how to pick the ripest honeydew, stacking watermelons, and unloading boxes upon boxes of sweet corn. When it was time for southern peaches, the owner would hop in her big white pick-up truck and drive through the night to Georgia to pick up cases of peaches. We’d report to the tent and help her unload while word spread that the peaches had arrived. This was the height of the summer – those peaches were amazing. I’d stand at the table, opening the white cases branded with a big Georgia peach, taking each one out by hand so as not to cause any bruising. The smell was intoxicating and the taste was unlike any peach I have had since.
This pie is summer in a crust. That’s all I was after – simple, no fuss and very few ingredients. I scoured different recipes and surmised that they are all basically the same. Peaches, sugar, lemon, cinnamon and nutmeg in varying combinations. The recipe that I liked the most was this one from Smitten Kitchen. Mine is pretty much the same with the addition of vanilla bean and my own crust. But in my world, it’s the vanilla bean that makes this extra good! For a tutorial on how to do a lattice crust, you can follow this link to my black and blue pie recipe.
