CROZET — Sitting in the shadow of Jarman Gap at the foot of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, rows of neatly planted fruit trees spread out as far as the eye can see.
This time of year, the star of this orchard is the peach, and on a picture-perfect summer day, Charlottesville resident Nancy Richey and her daughter and grandson, Elaine and Antonio Nazario, took full advantage of what the season had to offer.
“Fresh peaches smell like summer,” Elaine Nazario said as they meandered their way through the peach trees at Chiles Peach Orchard in Albemarle County. They’d stop at certain trees, grab the nearest ladder and let Antonio, 10, scurry up to pick the ripest fruits among the treetops.
The Nazarios are from Florida, and Elaine Nazario said it’s difficult finding good peaches there. Antonio said he enjoyed the climbing and picking, but he had other things on his mind — namely the fresh, homemade peach ice cream awaiting him once the picking was over.
It’s not uncommon to have visitors from other states, said Ruth Chiles, who, along with her husband, Henry, are the third-generation owners of the Crown Orchard Co., under which there are seven orchards within a 15-mile radius near Charlottesville.
Those open to the public include Chiles Peach Orchard, located off U.S. 250 and in operation since 1912, as well as Carter Mountain Orchard, near Monticello.
They grow peaches, cherries, strawberries, apples, pumpkins and more. The market at the peach orchard opened about 35 years ago after a bad freeze produced such a small crop that it wasn’t financially reasonable to hire workers to pick the fruit. So the family opened the orchards to the public, and the pick-your-own business was born.
“We started out with a card table and a cigar box to put the money in,” Ruth Chiles said, and, no pun intended, “it’s grown to this.” The peach orchard today spans 300 acres with thousands of trees. Several generations of the Chiles family — including Ruth Chiles’ granddaughter Ally, who’s known for her peach pies — work there daily, sorting fruit and maintaining the orchards.
During the summer, you can find peaches and nectarines by the bushels, including donut peaches, “the prize of the peach orchard,” she said. Donut peaches are small and tend to be flat, and are sweeter than the large white or yellow varieties. The orchard also sells homemade pies, ice cream, jellies, salsas and even peach cider.
“We have people who will come from miles away just to get the ice cream,” Ruth Chiles said.
According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, there are unofficially about 2,000 acres of commercial peach orchards across Virginia, but that doesn’t include pick-your-own operations that sell directly to the public.
Elaine Lidholm, director of communications for the department, said this year’s crop is doing OK given the weather conditions and the lack of rain. Peaches grow well in hot, dry weather and the result is a smaller, sweeter peach. Some rain, however, is necessary for healthy fruit.
Lidholm said Virginia isn’t known for its commercial peach industry. But for local farmers, particularly those who have pick-your-own orchards, it’s a major part of summer business.
“There’s nothing like a peach that’s picked ripe and sold immediately,” Lidholm said. While maybe not a huge cash crop for the state, peaches have “a very soft spot in the hearts of many Virginians.”
Ruth Chiles said the picking operation makes up about 5 percent of her business overall, with the vast majority coming from the commercial side. She said anything that’s left on the trees after the picking season is over at the end of August is packed and shipped up and down the East Coast.
So for about another month, the best peaches are available to the public, even the “drought peaches,” as Ruth Chiles called a particular bunch that were smaller than normal because of a lack of rain. A sign in the market advertised them as “Small in size/Big in flavor.”
“Farmers don’t throw things away,” she said with a smile.
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RECIPES
Peach Cobbler Cupcakes
Makes 8 servings.
• 1 15-ounce package refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts to a package)
• All-purpose flour for dusting a work surface
• 2 heaping cups sliced fresh peaches, well drained
• ½ cup, plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Place oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°.
Unfold the pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface. Cut four 4½-inch circles out of each crust, using a plastic lid or a piece of cardboard as a stencil and a sharp paring knife for cutting. You’ll have 8 rounds and plenty of dough scraps. Cut the scraps into strips, small uneven shapes or use miniature cutters to create a decorative topper.
Place 1 round in the center of a cupcake cup and gently press it down to fit the pan. It is fine for the dough to stick up around the edges. Repeat the process with the remaining rounds. Set the pan aside.
Chop the peaches coarsely and place them in a medium-sized saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and stir the peaches until they come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and stir often until peaches are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain the peaches, return to the pan.
Combine the ½ cup sugar, the flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir the sugar mixture into the peaches until well mixed. Spoon ¼ cup of the peach mixture into each pastry-lined cup. Place 3 or 4 strips of dough over the top of each fruit-filled cup. Use your fingers to press the edges of the dough inward toward the fruit. Distribute the cold bits of butter evenly on top of the pastry strips and sprinkle them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Bake the cobblers until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly, 16 to 18 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cobblers to loosen. Carefully remove them from the pan using the end of the knife under the bottoms and lift them out with your fingertips.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Storage: Store in a cake saver or under a glass dome at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or freeze them, wrapped in foil or in a cake saver for up to 6 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. To reheat, place them uncovered in a 350° oven till warmed through, about 20 minutes. — Adapted from Anne Byrn’s “Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor”
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Peach Bread
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger OR cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped pecans OR walnuts, lightly toasted
• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups fresh peaches, puréed
Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour two bread pans.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger or cinnamon, and pecans or walnuts.
In another bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add purée.
Combine wet and dry ingredients until batter is moist. Pour into the pans and bake for 1 hour. — Chiles Peach Orchard
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Peach Salsa
• 3 small peaches, peeled and pitted and coarsely chopped
• ½ cup red onion
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 tablespoon shallots
• 1 serrano chili
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients and chill overnight. For less heat, reduce or eliminate the chili.
— Adapted from “The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook”
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Grilled Peach Halves With Honey Butter And Brown Sugar
• 2 ripe peaches, halved and pitted
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Pinch of granulated sugar (for sprinkling)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
Cut peaches in half leaving skin on. Melt 4 tablespoons butter with the brown sugar and spread over each half.
Sprinkle with granulated sugar and place cut-side down on hot grill.
Leave on the grate for 3-4 minutes or until grill marks appear. In the meantime, melt the remaining butter with the honey.
Remove peach halves from heat and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Drizzle with honey butter. Serve warm.
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