Flavor Rich Peaches - Southern Peaches Make Their Debut

Learn about this Southern peach variety that is one of the first ones to ripen for the peach season.

What is a Flavor Rich Peach? This peach is an early season peach that has a yellow flesh. It is a clingstone peach. It's known for having a juicy, sweet flavor and for being of high quality for such an early peach. I have heard this variety also being called "Rich May".

We are about smack dab in the middle of May. This is the time of year the peaches from the south (mainly Georgia and South Carolina) begin to make their apperance in grocery stores.

One of the earliest ripening varieties is called Flavor Rich. It is typically the first commercial variety shipped from the south. A lot of people can't believe that this is a peach. It is almost all red, has a pointy end (common for southern peaches), and the fuzz factor is pretty low for a peach. But don't let this fool you, Flavor Rich is indeed a peach.

The particular peaches I got were grown by J.W. Yonce & Sons under their Big Smile label. They have been growing peaches for over 70 years in Edgefield County, South Carolina, also known as the "Ridge".

These peaches are clingstone peaches so the flesh sticks to the pit. I found that most of them also had split pits, this means that the pit has split in half like in the picture at the top. It doesn't effect the quality of the peach just make it harder to eat.

⭐ Review

Here is what I think of this peach variety on a scale of 1-10.

Acidity	7
Peach Flavor	6
Sweetness	7
Juiciness	9

This is probably the most sweet and juicy of early peaches I have had to date. My wife enjoyed hers without the need for additional sweeteners. Not the most flavorful, but not bad at all.

When I bought the peaches they were pretty hard still but after softening up in a paper bag for a few days they developed that mouth watering peach smell.

I have not tested these peaches for baking. I typically wait until later in the peach season before I start making pies, muffins, or cobblers.

Where is the best place to buy a good peach? Click here to read my article on shopping for peaches.

🚜 Where to Buy

Here are some orchards that grow Flavor Rich peaches.

• Saunders Brothers (Piney River, VA)
• The Peach Orchard at Lake Fork (Yantis, TX)
• Winona Orchard (Winona, TX)
• Jenschke Orchards (Fredericksburg TX)
• Mt. Airy Orchards (Dillsburg, PA)
  

Have you had this peach before? Leave a comment below sharing where you got yours.