Donut Peach @ Greenwood Grocer, North Sydney

Someone somewhere some time ago grew a strain of peaches that turned out deformed.

Rather than pull out the trees, burn them and start again, they decided that there was a marketing angle in these things. Give them a whacky name and charge premium prices.

And so was created the Donut peach.

Actually, these things have several names. Chinese peach, Jupiter peach, Saturn peach, Sweetcap, Saucer peach, Paraguayo peach, Pan Tao peach, Flat peach, Belly-up peach, UFO peach, Chinese flat peach, Hat peach, Anjeer peach, Custard peach, Pumpkin peach, Squashed peach, Bagel peach, Pita peach, Angel peach and the list goes on depending on how far and wide you search.

I can add some of my own: Semi Inflated Pool Toy peach, Lumpy Cushion peach, The Scream by Edvard Munch peach, Anime Character’s Eye peach and Cat’s Ass peach. Just use your imagination.

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So, what are they like?

They are okay, but I’d rather a standard variety peach.

They have white flesh and the skin isn’t too fuzzy. The flavour is not too sweet and the stone is smaller than a standard peach. They are more difficult to peel due to their shape (I always peel my peaches – can’t stand the fuzz).

I’m not sure why anyone would buy these instead of standard peaches, especially with a price tag of $13.99 p/kg. However, they exist.