My First California Peach of the Year – Amber Crest

It’s time! The beginning of the stone fruit season in the United States. Peaches are starting it off. I had my first California grown peach of the season, the Amber Crest variety this past week. The season has come early this year as normally the Amber Crest variety is ready around May 17th and we haven’t even turned the calendar to May yet.

Amber Crest is one of the earliest peaches out there. As is the case for all early peaches it is a clingstone, which means the flesh clings to the pit. But to me that inconvenience is easily overcame if the peach tastes good. Sun World International, LLC, of Bakersfield, California are the ones to develop this variety, so you will see their sticker adorning the peach.

My Experience with this Peach (Rating Scale 1-10)
Acidity: 8
Peach Flavor: 7
Sweetness: 3
Juiciness: 6

Overall Feeling: I have to say I was surprised how good this super early peach was. It was definitely on the tart side. I had to add a bit of wildflower honey to counteract some of the tartness. However that tartness would make Amber Crest an excellent candidate for baking (you can be the first on your block to bake a peach pie this year!). Although the small size of the peach and the fact that it’s a clingstone would make for more work. The flavor was good, especially the skin itself. So if you can stand eating the skin I definitely would with this peach.

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