Love New Zealand Peaches

Few things make me feel summer has really arrived like fresh stone fruit do, not surprising then they are also known as summerfriut. No stone fruit are native to New Zealand. Peaches, nectarines and plums all originated in China, with another variety of plum coming from middle Europe and cherries are native to the Caspian-Black Sea region. How exotic. We can possibly thank James Cook, or an early whaling gang for New Zealand’s first peach orchard planted around 1840.

I recently had a lovely trip down to Hawkes Bay. Happy was I, sampling the delicious sun warmed fruit, wandering through an orchard on the banks of the Tuki Tuki river. Not so leisurely for everyone working at the orchards though, they were all hives of activity, picking peaches, pears and plums fresh off the trees at their peak. I met Andrew Blackberry (great orchardists name Andrew!) who has pear trees in his orchard planted over 50 years ago by Sir James Wattie himself. Clearly our love affair with summerfruit continues.