I relish this time of year for the first of the season’s white peaches, the ones used to make a classic Bellini.

My best friend seems to know me pretty well, and part of a recent gift to me was a big bag of just-right, soft and juicy peaches. When I opened the bag, the most fragrant and fond memories came flooding back from my childhood.

It's a smell that makes me so happy. Around this time every year, my gran used to keep a prized tray of peaches in a back room cupboard, where they would naturally ripen. I seem to recall that they were a bit bigger then than they are now… Although everything seemed bigger when you were a child, especially the toffee apples!

We used to sit outside in our cozzies on one of those swing chairs, eating these perfectly ripe peaches and being very careful not to lose any of the juices dripping from our chin.

I’m sure all that juice is because the fruit is low in acid, so the natural sugar comes through the flavour the moment that they are picked.

It’s a bit of a shame to whizz up fresh slices into a Bellini, but these cocktails are sublime if made the proper way: seasonal white peach purée and a dash of raspberry purée, topped up with sparkling wine.

Just as I find rubbing the soft skins off cooked beetroot to be very therapeutic, so do I love peeling the skins off a just-poached peach to reveal the slightly blushing fruit. And once they’ve cooled, there is no dessert that beats a grown-up peach melba: poached peaches, a drizzle of puréed raspberries, a ball or two of homemade vanilla-specked ice cream, and a dash of berry liqueur. Just the best ever!

My letter is short and sweet this week, as our sparkling new issue of Eat Out Magazine (with all the award winners inside) is going to print, and lots of planning is underway to bring the most incredible Eat Out conference to South Africa. There are a few tickets still available if you are keen to be inspired and uplifted. Click here to find out more.

Stay peachy.  
Abigail

Photographs: Le Grande Farmers' Market, Mike McCune and Ralph Daily