The summer of 2025 is here, ushering in the joyful stone fruit season. The first juicy dessert peaches are already on the shelves, freshly harvested from South Africa’s renowned stone fruit orchards. There’s nothing quite like the delicate aroma and succulent flesh of a perfectly ripe peach to make it feel as if brighter days have arrived.
After the season’s first peaches in October, we’ll welcome a variety of exquisite nectarines, plums, cling peaches, and cherries that will be available in-store from November onwards. “South Africans can take pride in the fact that our country produces some of the best stone fruit in the world,” says Wilechia van der Westhuizen, spokesperson for Juicy Delicious. “Summer brings an abundance of high-quality, affordable fruit that plays an important role in boosting wellness across our communities – and they are so versatile that there are endless ways to enjoy stone fruit, every day.”
From peach chutneys and nectarine achars to sticky plum braai glazes and cherry sauce drizzled over vanilla ice cream, stone fruit are a feature of South Africa’s many culinary traditions. But delighting our senses is just one benefit of enjoying stone fruit. They are also packed with nutrients and are so easy to eat on the go or whenever we’d prefer a healthy, naturally sweet snack.
Why stone fruit belongs in everyday summer eating
Excellent sources of vitamins and minerals – peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries are packed with immune-supporting Vitamins C and A. Additionally, they play a vital role in getting enough potassium and magnesium every day. Both minerals are essential for supporting muscle function, while potassium also helps to manage blood pressure.
Rich in fibre – eaten with skins on, stone fruit provides both soluble and insoluble fibre, which is essential for gut health, nourishing gut bacteria, stabilising blood sugar levels and managing cholesterol. Fibre also helps keep you fuller for longer which can aid healthy weight management over the holidays when we are tempted to over-indulge.
Packed with antioxidants – a key advantage of eating seasonal fruit regularly is the intake of plant-based phytonutrients, which also give them their vibrant colours. Peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries help you to ‘eat the rainbow’ during summer, enhancing wellness for the entire family.
Seven tips to make eating stone fruit a daily habit:
· Keep a gorgeous bowl of stone fruit visible in the kitchen or your living space to trigger healthier snacking.
· Pre-slice stone fruit and store it in the fridge for quick and easy use in smoothies, fruit salads or salsas.
· Include stone fruit in your hydration strategy. Going to the gym or the beach? Take your water bottle plus a peach with you – it’s easy to carry, wonderfully hydrating and provides potassium and magnesium for muscle support.
· Explore new recipe ideas to add versatile stone fruits to every meal, such as smoothies or oats topped with stone fruit for breakfast, slicing stone fruit into lunchtime salads and using stone fruit as a hero ingredient in dinner meals such as curries and roasts.
· Get creative with making sweet or savoury preserves, jams, sauces, chutneys, salsas, braai marinades and glazes.
· Add stone fruit to lunch boxes every day.
· And, sweetest of all, don’t forget to make the most of stone fruit season in your baking and dessert-making this summer.
As we approach the end of the year and the start of the holiday season, there will be a consistent supply of locally grown peaches, nectarines and plums, with a special window for cherries as well. This summer, there will be plenty of opportunities to help the whole family boost their wellness and vitality by enjoying stone fruit every day.
For inspiration and recipe ideas, follow @juicydelicioussa on Instagram or visit www.juicydelicious.co.za
