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Color illustration of two giant peaches on a flatbed.
“A Carload of Peaches from California,” postcard, Edward H. Mitchell Co., 1909. Prints and Photographs Division.

Everything is Peachy: Summer Recipes from Historic Newspapers

Posted by: Malea Walker

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Peaches are one of my favorite summer foods and I can enjoy them fresh, or in a variety of dishes. I enjoy them in sweet and savory recipes. One of the best places for finding a wide variety of free recipes is our Chronicling America* historic newspaper collection. So I went looking to see what delicious recipes I could find.

Harvest Gold Peach Pie

Let’s start off with a peachy dessert. This Peach Pie is creamy and served chilled, not baked.

Picture of a slice of white creamy pie with peaches on top being taken out of the pie. Newspaper text below including recipe.
“Harvest Gold Peach Pie,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), October 25, 1953.

Peach Upside Down Cake

This recipe for an upside down cake covered in warm, buttery peaches definitely sounds like something I want to try!

Text of recipe. 1/2 cup of shortening, 2 eggs separated, 2 cups of flour, 2 level teaspoons baking powder, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract.
“Peach Upside Down Cake,” Washington Times (Washington, DC), May 8, 1936.

Peach Snow

If you’re looking for another cool dessert to fight the summer heat, here is another chilled peach concoction. The snow isn’t actually frozen, but it sure sounds delicious!

Text of recipe. 1 quart can of peaches, drained (or one No. 2 1/2 size can),1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 1/4 cup of cold water, 1 1/2 cups of peach juice, 2 egg whites beaten stiff, 1/2 cup of cream whipped, juice of one lemon, chilling time one hour.
“Peach Snow,” Washington Times (Washington, DC), May 8, 1936.

Pickled Peaches and Peach Jam

If you are faced with having too many ripe peaches, you might be looking for a way to preserve them. Our historic newspaper pages are filled with recipes for both pickled peaches and peach jam. Try taking a look at this recipe for “Pickled Peaches” from the Evening Star, and this recipe for “Spiced Peach Jam” from the Arkansas State Press.

Curry with Chutney Peaches

I really enjoy having savory dishes with fruit, so this recipe for curry with chutney peaches is definitely for me.

Image of peaches surrounding curry over rice on a platter with recipe text below.
“Curry with Chutney Peaches,” The Frontier (O’Neill City, NE), September 20, 1962.

Peach “Salads”

I enjoy a good summer salad topped with peaches, so I also searched for recipes for “peach salad.” For those of you who are unaware, or for those of you like me who may have forgotten, the term “salad” was used somewhat differently in the 1950s and 1960s than it is today. Rather than finding recipes for fresh greens topped with zesty dressings, I found two varieties of salads from that time: the cottage cheese variety and the gelatin variety. The two are not mutually exclusive.

So I went on a journey of reading recipes that were truly entertaining and often horrifying to my modern tastes. Lettuce was often a garnish, a second thought, to these “salads,” added to a mixture of ingredients that included cottage cheese and/or gelatin, olives, peppers, nuts, celery, horseradish, miracle whip, and of course, peaches. I recommend taking a look at the results here when you have time.

Here are two prime examples of historic peach “salads”:

Four images of peaches and other fruit forming pictures over top of a beds of cottage cheese: a bunny, a heart, a clock and a flower.
“Cling Peaches Love Cottage Cheese,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), April 4, 1954.
Text of recipe. 1 can (1 pound 13 ounces) cling peach halves, 2 packages lime gelatin, 3 cups boiling water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 cup creamed cottage cheese, 1/2 cup thinly-sliced celery, 1/4 cup chopped green pepper, 1/4 cup chopped cucumber, 6 to 8 maraschino cherries, dash aromatic bitters.
“Peach Salad,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 31, 1962.

Do you have any favorite peach recipes? Have you made any of the recipes shown here? Let us know in the comments!

*The Chronicling America historic newspapers online collection is a product of the National Digital Newspaper Program and jointly sponsored by the Library and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Comments (5)

  1. Judith Mier says:

    This all brings back my 1950’s childhood.Thans for sharng.

  2. SharonM says:

    The Cling Peach Advisory Board. Wonderful! And the peaches on the train—they look delectable. What fun!

  3. Nancy campion says:

    Thank you for the recipes. We live in Oregon. And just went to orchard to,pick some luscious peaches. Peach crisp. Peach and blueberry cobbler, and peaches w yogurt will be our treats this week

  4. Caron Smith says:

    Yum yumm

  5. Paul Skrtic says:

    Lovethe peaches!!!!

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