Cookin' with Karl
Peach dumplings
Owner of Bauman Orchards in Rittman, Diana Bauman provided Karl with her recipe for peach dumplings. Peach season is in full swing. Photo courtesy of DIANA BAUMAN
Peach season in northeast Ohio is in full swing. Red Haven peaches are the first to come in and they are fabulous. I visited Diana Bauman, at Bauman Orchards in Rittman, to see what I could learn about these very popular peaches.
Bauman Orchards is located at 161 Rittman Ave. in Rittman. It has been a go-to for peaches, apples, plums and sweet corn since 1929. With their amazing farmer’s market store, it is the go-to for many other goodies as well year round.
Diana knows her fruits and so I figured she was the perfect person to learn from. As I arrived at Bauman, I found her, of course, sorting and packing peaches.
The first question I asked was “what’s the big deal with Red Haven peaches?” I keep hearing about them, but had little knowledge about them.
“They are an old school peach, one that your grandmother would know. The main attraction is that the variety has been around for a long time and is one of the first to ripen,” Diana said.
At that point, she showed me their selection and had me check out the look and feel of some of the peaches. I learned that the ready-to-use, ripe peaches have a little give to them. If they are firm, they are still a few days away from ready.
Diana also pointed out that they have an updated ripening dates chart on Bauman’s website. It shows many other varieties that are ripening soon and exactly when. For instance, John Boy, White Lady and Coral Star are all ready now.
“I love Coral Star for freezing and I love PF-24-007/Contender for canning. Those will be ripe on Aug. 20,” she said.
The chart shows 15 different varieties. Makes me want to try each one.
By the way, five varieties of apples are already ripe and ready.
But back to peaches. As a person who is successfully losing weight a few pounds a week, I find that eating things in their simplest form is the easiest and often the best. I asked Diana if she had any great recipes for peaches that she would like to share. She gave me one, I made it that night and it was spot-on tasty for a cool evening.
The recipe is for Peach Dumplings. My son, Sam, and I figured each dumpling is about 300 calories. Could be less if you cut back on the butter and sugar a bit. When she described the recipe to me, I thought it sounded like something I could make in my dutch oven. I baked it instead as time was an issue.
Here is the recipe, straight from Diana’s head to this column, for your enjoyment:
You need 9x13 glass casserole pan, 4 large peaches, peeled and pitted, cut into 8 halves, 2 tubes of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, 1 stick of real butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. cinnamon or, better yet, Apple Pie Spice Blend available at Bauman Orchards. Then, the wild card, 1 can of Mountain Dew.
Melt the butter, stir in sugar and Apple Pie Spice Blend, set aside. Take 2 triangles of crescent roll together (a square). Place half peach flat side down in center. Cover the peaches with most of the sugar/butter/spice goop (reserve 1/3). Pull corners of pastry up and pinch closed. Space, 2 wide, evenly in pan. Brush remaining goop on top. Then, the wildcard: pour a can of Mountain dew over it all. Cover with foil, bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until tops are golden brown. Remove, let cool, and serve. Makes 8 servings.
Personally, I did not have Mountain Dew on hand, so I used Chardonnay. Worked well, tasted great and was a perfect dessert after a cool evening walk. Diana tells me this same recipe is great with apples too!
I did learn one important thing making this recipe: how to peel peaches. The skin can add a bitter taste, so it is best to remove it. Turns out, it is the same as how to peel tomatoes. Boil a pot of water and also prepare an ice bath (crushed ice in large bowl with water). Slice a thin cross in the bottom of the peach, only skin deep. Put peaches in boiling water for one minute, then immediately into the ice bath. Skin should easily pull off after they are in the ice a few minutes.
Bauman Orchards is located at 161 Rittman Ave. in Rittman. It has been a go-to for peaches, apples, plums and sweet corn since 1929. With their amazing farmer’s market store, it is the go-to for many other goodies as well year round.
Diana knows her fruits and so I figured she was the perfect person to learn from. As I arrived at Bauman, I found her, of course, sorting and packing peaches.
The first question I asked was “what’s the big deal with Red Haven peaches?” I keep hearing about them, but had little knowledge about them.
“They are an old school peach, one that your grandmother would know. The main attraction is that the variety has been around for a long time and is one of the first to ripen,” Diana said.
At that point, she showed me their selection and had me check out the look and feel of some of the peaches. I learned that the ready-to-use, ripe peaches have a little give to them. If they are firm, they are still a few days away from ready.
Diana also pointed out that they have an updated ripening dates chart on Bauman’s website. It shows many other varieties that are ripening soon and exactly when. For instance, John Boy, White Lady and Coral Star are all ready now.
“I love Coral Star for freezing and I love PF-24-007/Contender for canning. Those will be ripe on Aug. 20,” she said.
The chart shows 15 different varieties. Makes me want to try each one.
By the way, five varieties of apples are already ripe and ready.
But back to peaches. As a person who is successfully losing weight a few pounds a week, I find that eating things in their simplest form is the easiest and often the best. I asked Diana if she had any great recipes for peaches that she would like to share. She gave me one, I made it that night and it was spot-on tasty for a cool evening.
The recipe is for Peach Dumplings. My son, Sam, and I figured each dumpling is about 300 calories. Could be less if you cut back on the butter and sugar a bit. When she described the recipe to me, I thought it sounded like something I could make in my dutch oven. I baked it instead as time was an issue.
Here is the recipe, straight from Diana’s head to this column, for your enjoyment:
You need 9x13 glass casserole pan, 4 large peaches, peeled and pitted, cut into 8 halves, 2 tubes of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, 1 stick of real butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. cinnamon or, better yet, Apple Pie Spice Blend available at Bauman Orchards. Then, the wild card, 1 can of Mountain Dew.
Melt the butter, stir in sugar and Apple Pie Spice Blend, set aside. Take 2 triangles of crescent roll together (a square). Place half peach flat side down in center. Cover the peaches with most of the sugar/butter/spice goop (reserve 1/3). Pull corners of pastry up and pinch closed. Space, 2 wide, evenly in pan. Brush remaining goop on top. Then, the wildcard: pour a can of Mountain dew over it all. Cover with foil, bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until tops are golden brown. Remove, let cool, and serve. Makes 8 servings.
Personally, I did not have Mountain Dew on hand, so I used Chardonnay. Worked well, tasted great and was a perfect dessert after a cool evening walk. Diana tells me this same recipe is great with apples too!
I did learn one important thing making this recipe: how to peel peaches. The skin can add a bitter taste, so it is best to remove it. Turns out, it is the same as how to peel tomatoes. Boil a pot of water and also prepare an ice bath (crushed ice in large bowl with water). Slice a thin cross in the bottom of the peach, only skin deep. Put peaches in boiling water for one minute, then immediately into the ice bath. Skin should easily pull off after they are in the ice a few minutes.