SUMMER 2014 A MEMBER OF EDI BLE COMMUNI TI ES I SSUE 24

Mick Klug on Peaches

THE HEI RLOOM TOMATO
Refresh: Cold Summer Soups
28 edible CHICAGO | SUMMER 2014
From the Good Earth
F
or some, summer has arrived when
the mercury in the thermometer
rst hits the 90-degree mark. For
local eaters, however, summer isnt really in
full bloom until the rst ripe, juicy peach hits
the farmers market.
When Mick Klugs stand at local markets
is packed with peaches, summer eating is at
its best. Hes been a farmer all of his lifehis
farm in Michigan has been in his family for
more than 80 years. For 34 of those years,
hes been bringing peaches to markets all
over the city.
I was born on the farm, said Klug.
Back when my parents bought the place, the
majority of the 40 acres was peaches. Now,
he grows about 20 acres of peaches, which
includes more than 20 different varieties.
If you buy peaches somewhere other
than a farmers market, youre probably doing
it wrong. Out of season, peaches sometimes
taste more like stale, peach-avored gummy
candy rather than an actual fruit. Why?
Because they are not even close to fresh.
If its in the store, I would say its been a
week, maybe ten days, since it was harvested,
by the time it goes through the packing
house and onto a truck, Klug estimates.
They just dont have any avor to them.
Many of these shipped peaches are
picked unripe before being trucked across
the country, which is why they never taste
quite right. The biggest thing is letting
the peach hang on the tree and let it ripen.
Thats why our peaches at the market are so
popular; the majority are picked one or two
days before. People that buy local are getting
the peak of avor.
Each of his many peach varieties are
distinct, and Klug can rattle off the qualities
of each. Do you want a sweeter peach? Try a
Loring. A great peach for kids? Try a Yellow
Donut peach. Autumn Star, Canadian
Harmony, Garnet Beauty. The names roll off
your tongue like racehorses or rock bands.
Klug has been bringing peaches to sell at
Chicago markets long before local sourcing
became as popular as it is now, but hes not
cynical about the sudden trendiness. Quite
the opposite. The person that came up with
buy local as a sloganits been a huge plus.
Everyone has jumped on the bandwagon,
he explains. It was just a matter of time as
people got educated. Why buy this stuff from
the grocery store when people can know the
guy whos growing it? Its 100% better.
Hes also got a good stock of restaurant
clientsyouve probably seen the Mick Klug
name on menus all over town. Lots of pastry
chefs love to make peach pies, Klug says.
You can even get a Mick Klug fruit smoothie
on the y at Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless
at OHare.
29 ediblechicago.com
Place matters for Klug. Michigan, it
turns out, is a great place to grow fruit. Big
swings in temperature and harsh frosts can
be bad for fruit production, but Klugs farm
is in the perfect spot. Our proximity to
Lake Michigan protects us from very cold
temperatures in the winter that can damage
and/or kill fruit trees. The western coast of
Michigan also has excellent soil for growing
fruit.
There is one thing thats not perfect
about Michigan, however, its tough to grow
fruit organically. Klug is completely open
about the fact that hes not an all-organic
producer. In the Midwest, especially in
fruit, its not impossible, but its next to
impossible.
Instead, Klug focuses on keeping his
interventions small and targeted. He has a
team of scouts that roam his farm looking
for any sign of pest infestation, and he can
rattle off insect species almost as fast as
peach varieties. There is a berry moth that
kills grapes, a fruit moth that eats peaches,
and the worst, a spotted wing y that came
over from Asia. An invasive species, this
y reproduces every 12 days and if its not
destroyed, crops can be ruined.
Klug has tried different approaches
over the years, including not spraying at all.
His restaurant clients, however, rejected his
berries that year when a few of them had
insects on them. So, now he works with
the Michigan Agriculture Environmental
Assurance Program, a certifying group
that helps farms minimize pollution. We
have to keep very careful records. I pride
myself on the quality of my produce, but my
second pride is knowing that its safe for the
consumer.
Its a very hard line between sustainable
and organic, but I think if people had the full
Summer in Full Bloom:
Peaches
by Anthony Todd
realm of what exactly organic is, they might
lighten up, says Klug.
It is less about labels than about proper
stewardship for Klug. That, plus growing
really delicious products, of course.
Whats the best way to tell if a peach is
ripe? Hes quite emphatic that you should not
do what your grandma might have taught you.
Squeezing a peach is not a good way to pick
a good peach, he explains. It only bruises
the peach for the next customer. A ripe, tasty
peach can be rm to the touch, so no need
to squeeze. The best way to get a ripe one is
to know your farmer and ask them when the
peaches were harvested. They can also help
you pick the right variety. Different peaches
work best for different thingscanning,
eating, bakingtalk to the grower; theyll
guide you in the right direction. If you want
to taste them for yourself, you can nd Klug
and his peaches at Green City Market, the
Lincoln Square Farmers Market and the 61st
Street Farmers Market.
Oh, and in case you were wondering,
Klugs favorite peach dish is classic Peach
Cobbler. ec
Anthony Todd is a food and drink writer
and editor. His work has appeared in the
Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out Chicago,
Chicago Social Magazine, Plate Magazine,
Serious Eats, BlackBoardEats and City
Eats. Previously, Anthony was the Chicago
editor for The Tasting Table and the Food
& Drink Editor for Chicagoist.com. In his
spare time, when hes not eating, gardening, or
mixing drinks, he moonlights as an attorney.