I live in northern California where excellent peaches grow in the valley, the foothills, and even in the mountain areas. I prefer the Hale, Elberta. and Faye Elberta peaches overall. Fortunately I live near a major fruit-producing area, so I can buy peaches fresh off the tree. I also shop the farmers' markets to get the premium peaches available seasonally. I'm curious about the cooking time listed on the Summertime Peach Pie. I can't believe that the pie should cook for 2 hours total! What variety of peaches were used to test this recipe? If I cooked any pie for that long, the peaches would be nothing but mush! To say nothing of what the crust would be like.... Nina, I often bake fruit pies for 2 hours. The peaches stay toothsome (not sure what kind they were - they were from Georgia, and weren't particularly hard to begin with); and the crust, being topped with foil for most of the time, browns slowly. The bottom crust, since it's insulated by the filling, doesn't burn, but instead browns very nicely. And the filling of my apple pies gets a very slightly caramelized flavor from the long cooking... Honestly, I swear by this long cooking time. Give it a try! Just be sure to follow the directions and cover with foil for part of the time. - PJH

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