Freestone Peaches: A Juicy Southern Treasure

Summer in the South brings many sweet gifts, but few are as beloved as the freestone peach. If you’ve ever bitten into one, you know exactly why they’re worth celebrating. Bursting with sun-ripened flavor and that classic peach perfume, freestone peaches are a seasonal favorite—and here in our neck of the woods, we’re lucky enough to live just a county over from the Peach Capital of the World.

So what makes a freestone peach different from other varieties? It’s all in the pit. With freestone peaches, the flesh pulls easily away from the stone—making them incredibly convenient for slicing, baking, and preserving. Unlike their firmer cousins, the clingstone peach (where the flesh "clings" to the pit), freestones are prized for how effortless they are to work with, especially in the kitchen.

Freestones typically arrive mid-to-late summer and are known for their rich, sweet flavor with just a hint of acidity that balances out the sugar. Their soft, juicy texture makes them perfect for eating fresh, sliced over yogurt, or layered into shortcakes and cobblers. Some people grill them for a smoky twist, others churn them into ice cream, or preserve them in jars to keep a bit of summer on the shelf all year long. And of course, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying them straight off the tree, juice running down your chin and all.

Here in South Carolina, we don’t take our peaches lightly. In fact, just one county over is Edgefield County, proudly part of the region often dubbed the Peach Capital of the World. This area's warm days, cool nights, and fertile soil produce some of the best peaches in the country—flavorful, fragrant, and full of that old-fashioned, just-picked magic.

If you haven’t had a freestone peach yet this season, now is the time. Keep your eye on the Market—we have the good ones coming in fresh, and we can’t wait to share the flavor of summer with you.