Peaches, Apples & Fruit in the Texas (TX) Hill Country - Topic Profile By Cofran's Texas Hill Country Portal

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Hill Country Portal

Email: info@hillcountryportal.comWeb: www.HillCountryPortal.com

A Powerful Information Database & Gateway Service for the Texas Hill Country

PEACHES, APPLES & OTHER FRUIT
IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

The Hill Country is well known for producing some of the best peaches available. The soil and climatic conditions are most favorable here for growing abundant, delicious peaches.

Most of the orchards are in the Fredericksburg area (Gillespie County) and in particular are concentrated in Stonewall, and Johnson City/Round Mountain area (Blanco County). Gillespie County produces 40% of all the peaches grown in the state of Texas. You can see many of the orchards
along the highways.

The peach season runs from mid-May through the first week of August in a normal year. Several orchards offer "pick-your-own", a fun and different outdoor activity for the family. When in season, visitors will find peach stands all along Hwy 281 and on Hwy 290 between Johnson City and Fredericksburg. These stands typically also offer a variety of fresh, locally grown produce and fruit.

The Stonewall area calls itself "The Peach Capital of Texas" and many refer to the excellent peaches grown there as "Stonewall" peaches.

The Hill Country Fruit Council in Fredericksburg produces a listing of its members in a brochure entitled Fredericksburg-Stonewall Peaches displayed on their website www.texaspeaches.com

An informative article on this subject is at Texas Escapes.

The Stonewall Peach JAMboree is held in mid-June each year to celebrate the bounty of local peaches. Activities include breakfast, rodeo, dance, races, peach eating contest, peach seed spitting contest, peach auction, peach queen coronation, and more. Info: 830-644-2735. www.stonewalltexas.com and see Hill Country Festivals for the June schedule.

Be sure to check out the detailed profile page in this Portal site for each town along the way to see their event calendar and more detail on fun things to do in the area.

There is a dedicated web site that focuses on the peaches in the Hill Country, and in particular those grown on the Pedernales Valley farms located between Johnson City and Fredericksburg. We won't duplicate their helpful information here. To reach this great site just click Peaches.

Don't overlook the growing reputation of the apple orchards in the Medina and Mason areas, known for producing succulent apples. See our profiles on Medina and Mason. Mason County has launched an annual apple festival held on Labor Day weekend. Mason has a July Apple Festival. See Hill Country Festivals. The South Llano area on Hwy 16 also has a commercial apple orchard operation.

And, this beautiful region is also well recognized for having excellent strawberries, blackberries and vegetables. Many of these farms have fruit stands and allow "pick-your-own" (PYO) as well, a fun, family-oriented outdoor experience. Enjoy!

Below is our list. Please note that many of these stands sell a variety of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables in season, and some serve mouth-watering ice cream, cobbler, pies, breads, jams, jellies, etc. Some of these stands will box and ship your selection, which makes for nice gifts and easy transport if you don't have your own vehicle.

For directory listings by city or topic profile, click: Index of Cities & Focus Topics

We welcome submission of updates, additions, corrections & digital photos, without compensation.

PEACHES IN THE STONEWALL AREA

BURG'S CORNER-HILL COUNTRY HARVEST, INC.: 830-644-2604; 800-694-2772; POB 281, 15194 E US Hwy 290, Stonewall, TX 78671. www.burgscorner.com. Retail & wholesale peaches & peach products.

GOLD ORCHARDS, INC.: 830-644-2890; 14329 E US Hwy 290, POB 56, Stonewall, TX 78671. 14 mi E of Fredericksburg. Retail

VOGEL ORCHARD: 830-644-2404; 12862 US Hwy 290 E, 2358 Gellermann Lane, Stonewall, TX 78671. www.vogelorchard.com. Retail & wholesale

WAHL TREE RIPE PEACHES & VEGETABLES: 830-644-2299; 15371 US 290 E, Stonewall, TX 78671. Retail

PEACHES IN THE AREA JUST EAST OF FREDERICKSBURG

CRENWELGE PEACHES: 830-997-4977; 617 W Main St, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Retail

BARILOCHE FARM: 830-990-9023; 10090 E Hwy 290, Fredericksburg, TX 78624; Retail

BEHRENDS ORCHARD: 830-997-4420; 4 mi E of town on S side of US 290, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Retail & wholesale

ENGEL ORCHARD: 830-997-3292; 9885 US 290, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. www..com. Retail

ENGEL FARMS: 830-990-0537; 9973 US 290, Fredericksburg, TX 78624; Retail. 8 mi E of town.

ePEACH.COM: 830-990-0006; 6789 Hwy 290 E, Fredericksburg, TX 78624.

MARK PREHN ORCHARD: 830-456-3400; 1653 Gellerman Ln (2 mi W of Stonewall), Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Retail

PEDERNALES VALLEY FARMS & LYDELL'S STORE: 830-997-1982; 1607 E Main, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. www.bigredbarnfredericksburg.com. Across from Fort Martin Scott. Retail & wholesale

ROCKY HILL ORCHARD: 830-997-6352; 279 Rocky Hill Ln, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Retail

STUDEBAKER FARM: 830-990-1109; US 290, Fredericksburg, TX. 5 mi W of Stonewall at Blumenthal, PYO, Retail

WOODS ORCHARD: 830-385-9442; Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Retail

ZENNER'S ORCHARD: 830-997-7445; FM 1631, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Retail & wholesale

PEACHES IN THE AREA JUST SOUTH OF FREDERICKSBURG

DONALD ECKHARDT ORCHARD: 830-992-7113; Hwy 87, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. www.hillcountrypeaches.com. 2.2 mi S of town. Retail & wholesale

ERNST MARKET: 830-997-2035; 3722 Hwy 16 S, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. www.ernstmarket.com. Retail

MARBURGER ORCHARD: 830-997-9433; US 87, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. www.marburgerorchard.com. 5 mi S of town. PYO, Retail

PEACHES IN THE BLANCO AREA

ENGEL'S FRESH FRUIT & VEGETABLES: 830-456-3438; US 281, Blanco, TX 78606. www.englesfreshfruitsandveggies.com. 1 mi S of Blanco.

MCCALL CREEK FARMS MARKET: 830-833-0442; 4524 N US 281, TX 78606. www.mccallcreekfarms.com. 3.5 mi N of Blanco. Retail

APPLES IN THE HILL COUNTRY

KENDALL COUNTY NATURAL APPLES: 111 Sunset Dr, Boerne, TX 78006. A PYO orchard with 40 trees and 12 varieties

LOVE CREEK ORCHARDS: 800-449-0882; 830-589-2588; Median, TX 78055. From April through October, these apple orchards are open to the public by guided tour only; call to set up a tour time. Lunch, tours, apple picking, pumpkin patch. Known for its dwarf apple trees that produce full-sized fruit with varieties ranging from Crispin to Jonagold. www.lovecreekorchards.com.

TEXAS VALLEY ORCHARD: 325-247-3979; Hwy 16, Llano, TX 78643. www.texasapplevalley.com. Apples, berries, more. Located a few miles S of Llano.

INTERESTING PEACH TID BITS

Peach varieties vary as to when they ripen, and further the timing depends on moisture conditions, temperature and other factors. Best to contact local growers to see how the peaches are progressing.

When growers refer to peach stone "freeness", the following are typical terms:

"Cling": The peach clings to the pit. Ripen in May.
"Semi-Free": The peach will release from the pit when ripe. Ripen in early Juen.
"Freestone": The peach will easily release from the pit. Ripen in June and July.

TYPICAL RIPENING PERIOD:

VARIETY	DATES	FREENESS
Regal	May 12-20	Semi-Free
Gold Prince	May 20-June 5	Semi-Free
Sentinal	June 1-14	Semi-Free
Gala	June 1-14	Semi-Free
Harvester	June 5-20	Freestone
Cary Mac	June 15-20	Freestone
Bounty	June 20-July 5	Freestone
Majestic	June 25-July 10	Freestone
Redglobe	June 25-July 10	Freestone
Loring	June 25-July 10	Freestone
Ruston Red	July 4-15	Freestone
Redskin	July 5-15	Freestone
Dixieland	July 5-15	Freestone
Flame Prince	August 1-10	Freestone
Big Red	August 10-20	Freestone
Parade	August 10-20	Freestone
Fairtime	Sept 1-10	Freestone

HOW TO FREEZE FRESH PEACHES: Peal peaches. Slice or half them. Dilute 1/2 cup water with 2 tablespoons of "Fruit Fresh" (lessens browning, preserves). Thoroughly mix 5 lbs of peaches with the diluted preservative. Place into freezer bags, seal and freeze them.

HOW TO BUY PEACHES: Make your selections based on what you intend to do with the peaches. For immediate eating or making into a jam or ice cream, select a soft-ripe peach. For canning or freezing, select a firm-ripe peach.

SIMPLE PEACH MATH: 3 to 4 medium peaches weigh about 1 pound. One bushel of medium peaches weighs about 48 lbs and produce 18-24 quarts of canned or frozen peaches.

PORTAL PEACH RECIPES

HOMEMADE PEACH ICE CREAM USING AN AUTOMATIC (CUISINART) ICE CREAM MAKER:
By Sharon
Yield: 1 to 1.5 qts
Ingredients:

1 or more cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup regular milk
1 can eagle brand milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 to 6 chopped peaches

Steps: Freeze the Cuisinart container. In a separate bowl mix above ingredients except for peaches. Cool mixture overnight in refrigerator. Put mixture into frozen Cuisinart container and mix for 15 min. Add peaches and mix 5 more minutes. Enjoy the ice cream then or empty into plastics freezer bowl and freeze.

PEACH COBBLER: By Sharon
Yield: 13"x9"
Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/3 cup Crisco
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup regular milk
6 large peaches (peeled and sliced)

Steps: Blend flour, Crisco, baking powder and salt with pastry blender until resembles course meal. Add milk and stir. Roll out on floured surface in rectangle form t make the crust. Melt 1 stick butter in 13"x9" Pyrex dish. Boil 2 cups water with 2 cups sugar until melted. Place fresh peaches on crust and cover. Roll crust into jelly roll. Slice into 15 slices. Place slices into dish with melted butter. Pour water-sugar mixture over sliced peach roll. Bake in 400° oven for 45 min. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

PEACH DUMPLINGS: (By Zena): A recipe from the Czech Republic.
Ingredients:

1 lb all purpose flour
1 pkg dry yeast
pinch of salt
1 pt lukewarm water
2 tsp sugar
2 eggs
whole peaches with skin or whole pealed peaches (blanched in boiling water for 20 seconds to easily remove skin)

Steps: Make the dough as follows. Dissolve sugar into warm water. In a bowl crumble the yeast, add the sugar water, stir and let rest 20 min. Add the flour, add eggs and a pinch of salt. Mix well and kneed into a soft dough. Let the dough rise for at least half an hour in a warm place. After rising, roll the dough flat and divide it into equal pieces about 3-5" square (depending on size of peaches). Wrap whole peaches into each dough square (carefully, so there are no holes) forming dumpling balls. Let the dumplings rise for 5 min. Boil water in a larger pot. Put dumplings into boiling water and cook about 10-12 min after they rise to the surface. After removing from the water, pierce each one with fork to release the steam. Garnish cooked dumplings as follows: In a bowl put 8 oz cottage cheese, 3 tbs sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and stir or whip until smooth. Top each dumpling with the mixture. Pour melted butter on the dumplings, and sprinkle sugar on top.

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