The unimpeachable peach

Peaches can be very hit or miss. They can smell heavenly at the grocery store, but taste mealy when you get them home; or they can be fragrance-free at the store but ripen up in a day or two to a heavenly state of succulence.

   I have only one tip for finding perfect peaches: Find a fruit vendor you trust and stick with him or her. My suggestion: Willie Merriman in North Canaan, on Route 44 just past the Stop & Shop plaza. His peaches are always, well, unimpeachable and he promises to have them at his stand until about Sept.22.

But what if you have to have a peach, and you can’t make it to Willie’s little shop? After all, the season is so short for peaches (it’s peaking right now). And these fuzzy little fruit balls are so very, very good for you. They are loaded with potassium, which can help ward off leg cramps (helpful when we have one of our rare hot days).

They also have vitamins C and A and fiber, and the government says they are “good� sources of lycopene and lutein, which help fight heart disease, macular degeneration in the eyes and cancer.

They are, obviously, fat free and cholesterol free, and they have fewer calories than comparably sized pears and apples. This is, apparently, partly because they have so much water in them (87 percent). They are amazingly sweet, but they have a low glycemic load, which means that (unlike, say, a chocolate ice cream sundae) peaches release their sugar slowly, making them a perfect snack before a workout or a perfect choice for breakfast before school.

When you can’t find perfect peaches, try adding a little heat to them; it only takes a little heat to release the hidden inner sugars of a mealy or firm peach. I have found that puff pastry and peaches make a perfect combination.

For years, now, people have been telling me that puff pastry is easy to work with.

I never believed them.

But this month, I have learned that, yes, puff pastry is a breeze; and it makes the perfect base for a fast peach tart. Now I always keep a sheet of puff pastry in my refrigerator (no, you don’t have to freeze it, as long as you use it within about a week of buying it; and if you do decide to freeze it, it takes a mere 30 or 40 minutes to defrost). Roll it out in a rectangle if you have a lot of peaches; or cut two circles of pastry (I traced my circle with a cereal bowl) and layer them one on top of each other (you get more puff) if you have only one or two peaches. Put it on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Slice the peaches into thin half circles and arrange them so the edges just barely overlap on top of the pastry (for the rectangle, leave a 1-inch border, which you can fold in or roll in, creating a nice edge). Bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.    

If you want to give it a nice sheen, brush some jam over the fruit and pastry and put it back in the oven for just a minute or two.