I always get a little overzealous during peak peach season. Their beautiful hue draws me in, then their perfume seduces me into a stupor, and the next thing I know I’m leaving the farmers market with a full peck of peaches. A peck is nearly 15 pounds, so once my stupor fades away, I realize…

Growing up in Fort Valley, Georgia—one of the state’s biggest producers of peaches—Stephen Rose was always the kid who could tell when someone at a gathering had made a cobbler with grocery store-bought canned peaches. They simply couldn’t compare to the sweet Georgia peaches he frequently ate, plucked fresh from the tree at his neighborhood…

Inspired by traditional Caprese salad, we swap the tomatoes for stone fruit and slip lemon balm in as a stand-in for basil. When you toss a handful of lemon balm over nectarines, plums, and fresh, milky mozzarella, you release a sort of magic that enlivens a fruit’s natural sweetness. Lemon balm gives the nectarines and…

Plump with nutrients and health-protecting plant compounds, and spectacular in pie, fruit salad, or straight from the tree, it’s no wonder we find this fruit just peachy. The Folklore One of summer’s most eagerly anticipated fruits, the peach has been adored for thousands of years. A symbol of luck, abundance, and protection in its native…

Summer desserts are meant to celebrate the season. Fruit pies, cobblers, buckles, and crisps are made for the sweet fruits of summer. These casual yet undeniably satisfying fruit desserts depend upon the best seasonal fruits, usually topped with a cake, streusel, or both. There are differences between these traditional American desserts, so here is a…

When baked in the oven, peaches caramelize in their juices, deepening their flavor. This dessert becomes elegant and sophisticated in its presentation: Use a pretty plate or a coupe glass and layer the soft, caramelized fruit with golden toasted almonds and mounds of orange-scented whipped cream. The almonds add crunch and smokiness, and with almond…