WEBVTT - Luke’s Diner: They’re, You Know, Peaches 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.000 I Am all in. 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:19.000 Let's just do I Am all in with Scott Patterson 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:20.640 an iHeartRadio podcast. 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:23.840 Hey everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am all in again a 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:31.600 podcast one eleven productions, iHeartRadio, iHeart Media, iHeart Podcast Season 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.920 one episode to lorelized first day at Chiltern one on 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:42.120 one interview guest with Peaches. In the episode, we have 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:48.839 very special guests. Mary Pearson is joining us. Hello, Mary, 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:52.400 thank you so much for joining us. And you're joining 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:53.680 us from where? What part of the. 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:57.400 Country We're in, Central Georgia. 0:00:57.400 --> 0:01:03.160 Central Georgia County, Peach County. Let me tell everybody a 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:10.640 little bit about Mary. Very fascinating young lady, the wife 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:16.640 of a fourth generation farmer, Al Pearson. She turned her 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:21.560 husband's fresh peaches and pecans into cakes, pies, cookies, and jellies. 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:27.720 She loved sharing these creations with friends and neighbors, sparking 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:32.560 the creation of Pearson family's mail order business. Many of 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.160 her original family recipes are still used today, continuing the 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:41.959 tradition of homemade treats from Mary's kitchen. Pearson Farms, located 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.480 in Fort Valley, Georgia, has been operated by the Pearson 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:49.120 family for listening to this over one hundred and thirty 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.400 five years one three five, that's right, one hundred and 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:59.440 thirty five years producing high quality peaches and pecans. Handpicked 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:03.960 peaches and farm grown pecans are central to their offerings, 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:07.120 and the farm's mail order business allows customers to enjoy 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:14.000 these products nationwide. Mary, welcome, thank you, honor to have you. 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:16.680 So we're introduced. 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:17.920 To suit. 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:21.080 Well, let's talk a little bit about your background and 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:25.640 what your day to day is over there. When did 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:30.880 you sort of start getting your hands dirty in the 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:34.440 family business and and and really growing this out as 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:35.840 a mail order business. 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:40.560 Well, we decided to open a store on I seventy five, 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:44.000 the year of the Olympics that they were going to 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:47.040 be in Atlanta, and I thought we were going to 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.880 get a lot of business. And we always wanted to 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:55.639 take our peaches to people that we could hear back 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.000 from and say, oh wow, they were so good or 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:01.960 they were terrible. You know, we never got any feedback 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.080 because we didn't have computers, We didn't you know, you 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:06.600 didn't do email any of that. 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:10.520 So we just really wanted to take it to people. 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:13.000 And the farm was not a place where you would 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.760 come to buy, so we started this mail or business, 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:19.680 and it just ended up being it was retail store, 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:24.560 but it ended up being everybody wanted things that we've 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:28.359 made in the kitchen there, and so we that's kind 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:30.440 of how it got started. And so I started with 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:33.680 recipes in my kitchen and then I would take those 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.840 to the farm and we'd play around with it, and 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:39.760 that's kind of how it got started. And everything was 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.040 coming from my kitchen. So they named it Mary's Kitchen, 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:45.120 and that's kind of how that got started. 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:50.720 Fascinating. So that's nineteen ninety six, if I'm mistaken, Okay, 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:55.200 So that was the Atlantic Limits nineteen ninety six, And 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:59.520 so you nineteen ninety six just started off, you one person. 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:01.800 Maybe I had a little bit of help. What's it 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:02.440 grown into? 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.320 No? I had a lot more help. 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:06.440 You had a lot more help. 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:06.760 Right. 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:10.200 We opened up a store, and as it turned out, 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:16.680 the Olympics sent everybody down Alabama, not seventy five, so 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:19.160 we could go stand on the interstate. There was nobody 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:23.000 coming down there. But we had jellies and we ordered 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:28.240 stuff out of house. We weren't making it then, but 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:32.559 we changed that and then we got too popular and 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.760 with the mail orders especially people wanting stuff once I 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:39.120 got home, so we moved it to the farm and 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:45.640 started cooking there and making everything we make comes from there. 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.600 And I didn't want to use a lot of preservatives. 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.560 I didn't know how to do that. So everything, really, 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:56.279 even to this day, is just no corn syrup, no 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.280 things that are unhealthy. Of course, you've got sugar, which 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:01.720 is not healthy, right, that's all. 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:08.080 Well, yeah, well in the episode, we're introduced to Suki 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:10.919 in this episode of Gimore Girls played by Melissa McCarthy, 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:13.160 when she's a chef at the Independence in and then 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:17.640 we meet Jackson Douglas who plays fruit Man, and he's 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.760 a fruit supplier and he provides fruits and vegetables Suki 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:25.400 and peaches. They're dealing with peaches in this episode, and 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:28.400 Suki's very particular about her peaches, as she should be 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:31.760 and her other produce. So we see Suki in the 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:36.479 kitchen smelling and inspecting a batch of peaches, and Suki 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:40.080 says they're smaller than the last batch, and Fruitman says, no, 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:45.240 they're not, and Suki says, smaller means watery, no good 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.400 peach taste. Fruit Man says, no, there's plenty of peach 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:55.240 taste being as there you know peaches all right, Laura 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.480 Lei takes a bite, she takes, she tastes and believes 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:01.240 they taste watery as well. So Suki then takes the 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.800 peach and rolls it along the floor. She claims they're 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.120 rolling differently because of the extra water. First of all, Mary, 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:12.440 can a peach be too watery? Can you determine that 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:14.359 by rolling it on the ground? 0:06:15.120 --> 0:06:17.400 Now, I've never heard that, but I can tell you 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.720 that peach can be too watery. In fact, I ask 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:26.000 a group of peach farmers from some other state why 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:29.000 their peaches were not very sweet, and they said, because 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.400 we fill them with water the last ten days of 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:36.400 growing seasons, so they get really big and pretty, but 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:37.200 they're not sweet. 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:41.480 Interesting do you go ahead? 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:41.760 Sorry? 0:06:42.200 --> 0:06:45.800 Well, so this year in particular, we had such sweet 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:50.960 peaches and big peaches because we irrigate, but they were 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:52.600 so sweet because we didn't have any rain. 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:55.359 They were so good. 0:06:55.680 --> 0:07:02.560 So the fruit itself struggles for relevance. I guess you 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:06.599 could say it struggles to just kind of like wine. 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:15.040 Grapes deprived of rain, right, are more flavorful, have a deeper, 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:19.040 richer flavor and that's it very interesting. Do you grow 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:21.840 other fruits or crops alongside the peaches? I mean, you 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:23.360 know we mentioned pecans. 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:29.640 We grow pecans, and we also are growing plums now, 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.800 oh boy, which are really good because there it's like 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:35.880 you grow them in your own backyard. It's not a 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:41.320 it's they're not really big necessarily, but they are so sweet. 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:44.880 What are we talking about? What kind of I mean? 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:49.800 Is it acres and acres of of peaches? I mean, 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.360 these are peach trees. These are these are. 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:53.880 Yes, peach trees. 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:56.440 And they're not tall, they're not grown like they are 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.520 in California where they use ladders because it's more and 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:04.320 California the land is is worth so much more per acre. 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:08.520 And in Georgia, you know it's not that expensive. So 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:12.960 you put more peaches peach trees on an acre. And 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.160 so we picked my hand. We don't grow them tall, 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:20.840 We grow them out in flasty interesting and there, how 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.800 may we have probably twenty five hundred acres I guess 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:24.480 of peaches? 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:25.320 Oh my? 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:29.160 And twenty did you say twenty five hundred acres of 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:35.120 peaches of peach trees? And what is how many trees 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:42.320 per acre? Would you say one hundred and twenty one 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:47.920 hundred and twenty times twenty five hundred how many peaches 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:49.600 per tree? 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:54.840 Well, you probably knock off two thousand peaches before they 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:57.480 get right, I mean when they're little, you'll knock them 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.200 off because if you don't knock them off, then you'll 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:03.840 have small peaches. And then we might get three hundred 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.600 to four hundred peaches on a tree. 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:10.480 Okay, sorry, sorry, So we're talking. So let's say, and 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:13.880 my support stuff, please do the math on this, because 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:17.960 I'm fascinated with this. Three hundred and fifty times one 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:23.160 hundred and twenty five times twenty five hundred, and let's 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:27.680 get that number. And that's and what is the peach season? 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:29.559 What's the best season for these? 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:35.000 We start picking peaches middle of May, okay, and we 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:39.840 finished the first or second week in August, okay. 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:46.200 And then they have to be and what's the processing, like, 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:49.800 what do you have to do to prepare them for market? 0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:55.480 Well, we actually when we start we pick them all 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:56.840 by hand of course. 0:09:56.960 --> 0:10:01.320 Right right, we're talking one hundred and five million peaches 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:04.600 that need to be farmed approximately, that need to be 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:08.800 that need to be picked right every season. Right, that's 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:11.480 a lot of labor. How many people are you hiring 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:12.640 to do that? 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.959 There may be as many as two hundred two hundred 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:22.160 and we have have housing, transportation, and but we when 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:26.800 we pick peaches there one tree might get picked four 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:28.280 or five times. 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:31.400 In one season, right, because they're. 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:35.240 All different varieties. We might have thirty five different varieties 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:41.480 of peaches, and some produce in July August, some do 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:46.360 in May, and so there might be that different period 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.560 of time, like three weeks that these peaches are getting 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:53.320 ready on one tree. If they all got ready at 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:57.040 one time, if that, you know, we couldn't pick them all. Right, 0:10:57.400 --> 0:11:01.360 that's why we have different varieties that are you know, 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.280 some are a yellow peach, some are more of a 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:09.280 red peach. As you get into peace season by about 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:14.400 the third week in June, then they're become freestone, which 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:18.600 means they don't cling to that seed, and so they're 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:23.160 easier to cut away from the seed from the cling 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:23.520 to it. 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.960 And then you you get these peaches, these one hundred 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:33.240 and five plus million peaches processed, cleaned, packaged, and are 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:36.200 you you you must have deals with all the grocery 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.440 stores in the area and the region and probably shipping 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:42.840 them out of state even I would, amae. So you 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:46.000 have some kind of a serious operation over there. 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:46.640 We do. 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:52.199 And we have a wonderful nephew who is a born salesman, 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:57.720 so when he graduated from college, he eventually came back 0:11:57.880 --> 0:12:01.800 to sell and so that's who sells all of our peaches. 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:06.120 And he could sell anything. I mean, he is so good. 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:08.160 And he is a year. 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:13.800 Older than my son. Our nephew doesn't want to grow anything, 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:17.480 and our son doesn't want to sell anything, so they 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:18.520 work well together. 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:32.520 Okay, so you're getting purchase orders from all over all 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:39.640 the time. What's the largest purchase order you've received so far? 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:42.040 How many peaches are involved in that purchase order? 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:43.800 It's truckloads. 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.640 So have you ever gotten a purchase order for let's say, 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.959 one hundred two hundred thousand peaches going to one place? 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:51.880 Yes? 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:52.720 Wow. 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:57.439 And one company that we that we've been dealing with 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:01.200 for a long time is called Tree Ripe and they 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:05.240 come down and get truckloads of boxes of peaches and 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.880 take them back to Wisconsin, open up the back of 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:12.640 the truck and people stand in line and just get 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.959 those boxes of peaches. Every year they look forward to it, 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:22.280 so they've been. We've probably sold to them thirty or 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:23.280 forty years. 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:24.880 That's fantastic. 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:30.839 It's been really neat seeing people and becoming friends with them. 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:32.319 We just go everywhere. 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:34.920 Let me ask you this, what are you most proud 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:37.480 of in terms of the way your farm operates? 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:43.440 Family, it's the way that we've had. The Pearsons have 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.640 come down really since eighteen eighty five, so it's really 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.840 more than one hundred and thirty five years when they started, 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:54.880 and there were twelve original Pearsons, six boys and six girls, 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:59.160 and then they followed down to my father in law. 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:03.839 He was the son that farmed, and then it went 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:07.959 to my husband and now it's to my son. Wow, 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:11.280 so it's and now he's got two sons that are 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:16.400 also interested in it. But it's hard work and it's 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:19.680 my son is he's gone at six in the morning 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:22.520 and he didn't get home till ten at night. And 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:26.960 that's that's from the first of May to the middle 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:31.640 of August. So it's not easy, but it's but it's 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:35.080 very gratifying, even more now than it ever has been 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:38.680 because the response that we get from people who just 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:42.960 love the peaches, it's a very romantic fruit. And when 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:48.200 you bring somebody a basket of peaches, they're like, wow. 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:52.200 You know, that's beautiful. It's just different than a lot 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:53.040 of other fruits. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:59.080 That's a great story. It's been in the family since 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:05.240 eighteen eighty five. It stayed in the family. Just just 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:11.480 a wonderful legacy and it will continue correct, It'll continue 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:12.760 on to the next generation. 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:17.720 And it's seasonal, you know, And I think sometimes that's 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:20.480 what makes people love them so much is you can't 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:21.120 get them all. 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:25.160 Year, right, it doesn't mean you stop working right now, 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.520 and there's there's always work to do, even off season. Yeah, right, 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.000 that's when the preparation is. 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.200 Yes, yeah, So what. 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:36.320 Are some of the biggest talent challenges you face in 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:37.080 peach farming? 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:43.480 Probably, well, frost and cold is one thing, because every 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:48.000 year we're faced with, you know, the peaches will bloom, 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:52.239 maybe the March the tenth is usually the peak of bloom. 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:55.360 And then after that it's they have to get enough 0:15:55.360 --> 0:16:03.120 cold hours. And that's very scientific and different varieties will 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:07.600 require a different number of cold hours and it has 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:13.240 to be by February the tenth with degrees forty five 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.080 degrees and under that they have to have that many 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:21.560 hours and some will require eight hundred hours, some require 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:26.840 twelve hundred hours. So it's just different. And year before 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:31.680 last we had five percent of a crop because they 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:35.400 all got killed with the cold came in like last 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:40.120 week in March, first week in April, and that's you know, 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:44.200 there's nothing we can do. We can put out fans. 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:46.160 We have a couple of big fans that we can do. 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.640 We can do some fires to warm it up, but 0:16:49.640 --> 0:16:56.040 nothing really with that many acred it's hard to contain that. 0:16:56.520 --> 0:17:00.840 Oh boy, well, hopefully not, Hopefully that's doesn't happen again. 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:05.439 Right, It happened in nineteen fifty five and that was 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:06.639 the last time. 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:12.120 Oh really, Okay, well that's good. Are there any tips 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:15.720 that you can share for selecting the perfect peach for 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.240 you know some of your top recipes. 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:23.399 Well, it probably needs to have Pierson Farm label on it. 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:30.960 That's the guarantee right there. And then after that, you know, 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:34.120 you can smell them. And a lot of people will say, well, 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.879 the peaches I buy in the grocery store, they're so hard, 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:40.919 I just I don't want to buy them. And my 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:44.120 answer to that is that if they aren't hard when 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:46.760 we ship them, then they'll be mush when they're in 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:50.359 the grocery store. Right, But there's a difference in being 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.920 being ready to pick and picking them green. So they 0:17:54.960 --> 0:18:00.199 have to be ripe, but they just can't be soft yet, right, So, 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:04.000 and you don't want to squeeze them because that's not good. 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:05.280 You'll just bruise the peach. 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:06.000 Right. 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:08.879 What's your favorite peach recipe? 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:15.520 I love kale salad with peaches and our peconds. I 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:17.920 do a crumble pecond so I put that in there too, 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:22.760 but you just besiage the kale and then you put 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:26.960 the fresh peaches in there and it's all in vinegar. 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:27.680 It's so good. 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:34.200 Oh my, I haven't had lunch. You're killing me right now. 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:35.560 And then the peach cobber. 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:37.679 We do a lot of it, and that's it's a 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:42.840 real simple recipe, but it's it's just good. It has 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:44.760 been the same recipe for years. 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:48.840 What did you have some unique savory dishes that feature 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:51.120 peaches other than salads? 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:54.240 I mean, there are lots of recipes out there, but 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:58.600 I do a lot of the grilled peaches and you 0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:01.600 just put olive oil on them and then you grill 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:04.800 them until they're brown and kind of soft and then 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:06.640 you flip them over and put whip cream. 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:10.160 Or yogurt in the middle. Oh, hello, that's good. 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.600 And then there's I love the peach and avocado salad. 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.960 And you know, you don't think about mixing those too, 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:22.680 but when you slice them, they're they're just really good. 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:26.520 Peach and avocado. Yeah, that answers my next question to 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:30.640 surprising ingredients that pair beautifully with peaches. 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:35.800 And there you go, avocado, avocado, and also mozzarella cheese. 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:40.600 You know the capristi salad, you using tomatoes, you use 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.320 peaches and mozzarella. 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:45.560 Really good. 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:47.040 I think I'm going to try that. 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:48.440 Mm hmmm. 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:49.840 Uh. 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:55.600 Do you prefer using peaches fresh, grilled, baked, or preserved 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:56.280 when cooking? 0:19:58.359 --> 0:19:59.000 Fresh? 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:01.240 But always fresh. 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:02.680 Always fresh? But I can. 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:07.760 You can freeze peaches and they taste like fresh peaches 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:08.680 when you saw them out. 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:11.840 It's very different from a can peach. 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:12.600 Mh. 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:17.080 And a lot of people will use canned peaches in 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:21.159 their cobbler, but it's not the same. I do freeze 0:20:21.200 --> 0:20:24.520 peaches because we do a lot of freezing of peaches 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:28.800 at the farm, so we'll have enough coming into the season. 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:30.240 Is that right? 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:31.720 As we do ice cream? 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:36.280 Okay, peach ice cream, and it's it's really good, but 0:20:36.320 --> 0:20:40.600 it has to have fresh peaches, and right, so we 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:43.399 do a good bit of freezing of peaches in the 0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:46.560 summer when they get really, really really sweet in the 0:20:46.600 --> 0:20:48.000 middle of June July. 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:50.560 I mean, they're really good. 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:51.200 All right. 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:54.119 I'm gonna throw some recipes at you, peach recipes, and 0:20:54.560 --> 0:21:00.000 you tell me if this sounds familiar. Okay, peach combler 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:04.320 classic dessert made with fresh or canned peaches. Right, Let's 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:12.719 let's use Mary's peaches topped with a buttery biscuit or 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:16.200 a cake like dough and baked until golden and bubbly, 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:20.160 serve warm with ice cream. How's that sound? 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:26.200 It sounds good. I've never made it like that. You made, no? 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.639 I mean the one I use is just so easy. 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:32.400 It's just a cup of flour, a cup of cup 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:35.399 of silf rise and flour, a cup of sugar and 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:38.480 a cup of milk, and you melt a stick of butter. 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:42.760 You pour that with vanilla over the butter, and then 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:44.120 you lay the peaches on top. 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:45.080 Mm hmm. 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:46.960 Couldn't be easier. 0:21:48.080 --> 0:21:48.720 Sounds great? 0:21:49.200 --> 0:21:49.600 Uh. 0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:56.800 Speaking of surprising combinations, peach and prescudo pizza, an Italian 0:21:56.840 --> 0:22:01.040 twist on a classic pizza using sliced peaches, arugula, and 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:04.760 goat cheese, all drives old with a bosama reduction. The 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:10.359 sweet peaches and salty prescudo create a mouthwatering contrast of flavors. 0:22:10.400 --> 0:22:13.880 Does that sound That kind of sounds like what you're 0:22:13.920 --> 0:22:20.440 talking about with surprising combinations. Here's another one. Peach salsa 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:26.840 a fresh fruit right, A fresh fruity salsa made with dice, peaches, 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:33.199 red onion, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice. It pairs well with 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:37.080 grilled chicken, pork, or fish. Man, Mary, I'm getting so hungry, 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:41.760 I just really getting hungry. And last, but not least, 0:22:41.880 --> 0:22:47.159 let's not forget about the peach billini, a sparkling cocktail 0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:52.000 made with pure aid, peaches and prosecco, perfect for brunch 0:22:52.600 --> 0:22:58.040 or summer parties. Yeah, my goodness, it was a pleasure 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:02.439 speaking with you, Mary, and thank you for taking the time. 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:07.720 I know you must be very, very busy, and gosh, 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:14.920 I hope that somebody uh uh, Emma, can you can 0:23:14.960 --> 0:23:17.600 you get with Mary here so we can get some 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:21.200 peaches and pecans for for God's sake, I'm so hungry 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:23.840 right now that I'd just like to order directly from 0:23:23.920 --> 0:23:24.439 the source. 0:23:24.840 --> 0:23:29.360 Right now, I have to ask you, yes, you are 0:23:29.400 --> 0:23:31.399 you a good cook since you ran a restaurant in 0:23:31.440 --> 0:23:33.800 the in your program. 0:23:34.200 --> 0:23:37.359 I'm I'm a good cook at what I cook because 0:23:37.359 --> 0:23:40.040 I've been cooking for so long. It's it's it's the 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:43.600 basis of my relationship with my wife, who I cooked 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:46.720 for all the time when we were dating. Uh. I 0:23:46.800 --> 0:23:49.239 used to cook for myself when I was you know, 0:23:50.000 --> 0:23:55.480 pursuing uh things in my early life careers, in my 0:23:55.560 --> 0:24:00.720 early life. So yeah, I've always been fancied myf a little. 0:24:00.800 --> 0:24:05.399 I wouldn't say chef level, but I make a pretty 0:24:05.480 --> 0:24:09.000 mean salmon a couple different ways. I love making chicken. 0:24:09.119 --> 0:24:12.560 I love a grill and a steak, you know. I 0:24:12.680 --> 0:24:15.399 make all kinds of different salads and things like. I 0:24:15.440 --> 0:24:18.480 just I really love to cook. I enjoy it so much. 0:24:18.640 --> 0:24:23.800 It relaxes me. My favorite time with my family is 0:24:24.280 --> 0:24:27.200 you know, five o'clock, I start, I start cooking, and 0:24:28.480 --> 0:24:32.320 everybody helps me out, and it's just I just love it. 0:24:32.359 --> 0:24:35.200 I love feeding people. I love sitting around with the 0:24:35.240 --> 0:24:38.879 people I love and eating and and just you know, 0:24:39.000 --> 0:24:41.199 tell them stories. And telling jokes whatever you know, how 0:24:41.240 --> 0:24:46.400 it is, it's just it's just there's nothing better in life. 0:24:46.720 --> 0:24:49.439 But it has been a pleasure of meeting you, Mary, 0:24:49.560 --> 0:24:54.560 and continued success with your wonderful business that's been around 0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:58.160 since eighteen eighty five. It's a family business and everybody 0:24:58.240 --> 0:25:02.720 check out the Pearson Farm located in Fort Valley, Georgia. 0:25:04.000 --> 0:25:09.840 Also visit Mary's Kitchen and you can get probably the 0:25:09.840 --> 0:25:13.159 best peaches in the United States, if not the entire 0:25:13.280 --> 0:25:19.040 world at Pearson Farm and Mary's Kitchen. And there she 0:25:19.240 --> 0:25:21.639