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Teaches of peaches: Local food writer focuses on the summer fruit

Teaches of peaches: Local food writer focuses on the summer fruit

Going to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches? For that you need recipes!

A slim new cookbook focuses solely on recipes for peaches, using the fruit in entrees, appetizers, breakfast dishes, and cocktails, and fruit fans can sample the results at a release party in Williamsburg on August 6. This book is definitely in season, said its author.

“The first thing I think of when I think about summer is peaches,” said Beth Lipton, the food editor for Health.com. “I remember going to farmer’s market as a kid with my family, after the beach. If I behaved myself, I got to have a peach. Peaches are like the reward for getting to another summer every year.”

The 48-page “Peaches” is the latest in a series of small-format, single-subject cookbooks from Brooklyn publisher Short Stack. The focused format gave Lipton, who lives in Boerum Hill, an opportunity to unpack new ways of using the fruit, such as turning a classic peach cobbler into a breakfast meal. Concocting the recipes also led Lipton to discover foods that go well with peaches, including honey, with its floral fragrance, and tomatoes, which have a similar fleshy juiciness.

“Peaches play well with others,” Lipton said. “Everyone knows they go with cream, but they go well with spice, too. There is a little acidity, but not too much.”

Lipton’s book demonstrates that the stone fruit can enhance dishes with a variety of flavor profiles. In fact, if she had her little way, we’d have peaches every day.

One of her recipes, Green Goddess Chicken Salad, pairs peach and fennel with an herby dressing featuring parsley, tarragon, and chives. A mixed drink combines peach juice with cucumber juice, jalapeno, and Mezcal. Lipton says it is sweet, spicy, and refreshing.

The store hosting the release party, By Brooklyn, only sells items produced in the borough. The tasting is part of a series of Thursday evening “Happy Hour” events at the store’s Williamsburg location, at which local food makers provide samples of their products and a related cocktail. The store’s owner encourages people to come try some of the 21 recipes in Lipton’s book.

“It’s a great opportunity for customers to try stuff from the cookbook and experience the new store and a product made here in Brooklyn,” said Gaia DiLoreto. “We hope people from the community make it out. We’d like to get to know our neighbors.”

“Peaches” release at By Brooklyn [142 Grand St. between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street in Williamsburg, (718) 935–9041, www.shop.bybrooklyn.com] Aug. 6, 5–8 pm. Free.

Reach reporter Eric Faynberg at (718) 260–2508 or by e-mail at efaynberg@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericfaynberg.
Eat a peach: Beth Lipton gets a feel for the subject of her new cookbook “Peaches.”
Photo by Sara Hylton