Peach
Prunus persica
Fuzzy stone fruit. Freestone vs cling is pit behavior. Same species as nectarine. Short storage life. Pits are not food.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
Fuzzy stone fruit. Freestone vs cling is pit behavior. Same species as nectarine. Short storage life. Pits are not food.
Edible portions
- fruit
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. 5–8
- Light. Full sun, airflow
- Soil. Well-drained; they die wet
- Planting. Thin aggressively. Peach pruning is annual.
- Harvest. When background color yellows and fruit smells like a peach.
Processing, drying, storage
- Drying. Halves or slices until leathery. See also Make → Drying.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Fresh, can, dry, jam
Nutrition and compounds
- Vitamins (qualitative, well-known associations). vitamin A, vitamin C — not milligram values.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.