my mission to find james' peach

I read James and the Giant Peach as a little girl and I remember how much my mouth watered while reading that book. The description of the peach just left me full of desire to run to the market and bite into the first peach I could find.  I wanted to feel drunk by the peach the way James felt as he explored that gigantic mass of fruit. I could not stop thinking about the darn peach and I dreamt of the moment that we would one day meet face to face.

As my mom got ready to go to the store I thought “this is my chance” and I requested some peaches. “How many?” “umm…a dozen, please.”  This was definitely not my first time eating a peach, but it sure felt like it. Once she got home I almost trampled her like a hungry dog that smelled fresh meat. I grabbed the first peach I could find and I carried this priced fruit to my room where I could eat it without interruption. “Umm, I have been waiting for you…”

I have to admit that although the peach was quite delicious, it did not live to the hype that I had created in my head. The peach tasted fresh and had a perfect sweetness to it, but it was definitely not as sweet as James’ peach. I have continued to eat peaches all my life but I have never come across one that compares to the mythical peach in the book.

As I flipped through my favorite magazine, Dish, I came to the Nectarines and Peaches in Brandy Syrup recipe and decided to give it a try. The recipe is quite simple and fast. As I prepared the peaches, I smelled them and the scent took me back to the day that I craved James’ peach. They smelled divine! I even called Eddy and Cho, who happened to be visiting, to come and smell the peaches. Once the peaches had bathed in the brandy syrup, I decided to give it a try. I was shocked to discover that they tasted exactly the way I had imagined as a little girl. This was James’ peach!

Now, if I would have know about brandy as a young girl I would have fulfilled my craving for that saccharine peach…don’t know how good of an idea that would have been as I would have probably ended up drunk.

Nectarines and Peaches in Brandy Syrup
adapted from Dish (NZ)

  

3 lbs of small nectarines or peaches, or a combination of both.
2 cups of water
1 1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 cup brandy

With a knife, lightly score the skin along the groove of the fruit. In a saucepan bring water to boil. In batches, drop the fruit into the boiling water for 4 minutes. Remove the fruit and place in a bowl of cold water. Carefully peel off the skin of the fruit.

In a large saucepan combine water, sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and peppercorns stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring back to a boil for 5 minutes then add brandy and simmer for 3 minutes. Add fruit, increase heat and once boiling immediately remove from heat.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fruit to a hot, sterilized jars and and pour over the syrup totally cover. Seal the jars immediately, cool completely then refrigerate.