Peachy Pasta is the trinity of summer flavors with fresh tomatoes, peaches and basil.Peaches, the passion of summer’s fruits, are at their pinnacle. Dripping with flavor and sweetness, it’s hard to deny their popularity. Drive by any roadside market and you’ll see baskets brimming with the glow of Red Haven, Loring and other varieties grown in our area.
Lorings are grower Tom Crawley’s favorite.
“I guess it’s because they’re freestone, and they’re bigger than some other peaches. They’re just really good,” he says.
Crawley retired from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency 27 years ago and went into the peach business. He learned from his dad, who spent his life around peaches. Crawley has about eight acres filled with about 1,000 peach trees — Red Havens, Elbertas, several varieties of white peaches, which he says many people prefer. And, of course, Lorings.
This year’s harvest is good, he says, but different from last year’s, when he started picking in early June. By the end of July, the crop was pretty well exhausted.