If the Masumoto family has done its job, you may never think about peaches the same way.
The Masumotos (Marcy, Nikiko and David Mas Masumoto) - a fourth-generation Fresno County, Calif., farming family - have written a 167-page book, The Perfect Peach (Ten Speed Press, $22). The book includes essays detailing the dynamics of farming, a primer on peaches and,most of all, recipes celebrating the love of this juicy, sweet-tasting summertime fruit.
“We wanted this book to be for people who enjoy peaches and are interested in cooking with them,” says David Mas Masumoto, who co-wrote the book with wife Marcy and daughter Nikiko. “But at the same time, this is for the people who want to know about the back story of the farm and where their food comes from.”
Nestled on 80 acres in the southeast Fresno County community of Del Rey, the Masumotos grow peaches, nectarines and grapes for raisins. The farm has been in the family since the 1940s and is known for producing the beloved Suncrest peach, an old-time peach with full flavor.
The Masumotos have carefully cultivated a following for their fruit. Fueling that interest has been David’s writing. He wrote the award-winning Epitaph for a Peach, along with several other books. And the family launched an adopt-a-tree program several years ago that draws people from throughout the state to pick tree-ripe fruit.
Inside their sunlit farmhouse recently, the Masumotos talked about how the book allowed them to combine their interests and talents. Marcy, who is an avid home cook with a background in nutrition, and Nikiko, a budding performance artist, developed the recipes. David and son Korio, who is still in college, were the lucky taste testers.
“We got spoiled, because they are such good cooks,” David says.
The only downside to tasting dozens of recipes was having to go to work afterward. Sipping bellinis at 10 a.m. doesn’t bode well for a day of tractor driving.
Each of the 50-plus recipes is prefaced with a short explanation of how the recipe came about or who inspired it. Woven throughout the book are essays by David and Nikiko. In one passage, Nikiko fondly recalls how her baachan, Japanese for grandmother, would “put up” her peaches in a simple syrup, freezing them in bulging plastic pouches.
“They tasted so good in my oatmeal,” Nikiko says.
Ironically, David says, the best-tasting peaches were the preserved ones he ate during the winter, long after the trees stopped giving fruit.
“When you were not working so hard, you could enjoy them more,” he says.
An entire section of the book deals with how to preserve peaches, including frozen, in jams, jars and even dried.
“To us, good preserved peaches are better than bad fresh peaches,” Marcy says.
Food, Pages 31 on 06/26/2013