Anyone looking forward to Hill Country peaches this year will have to console themselves with fruit from other parts of the state. The freezing weather that whacked Texas in early April took out most of the Hill Country crop as well as the fruit in areas west of here, such as Parker County.

EVANS CAGLAGE/DMN

Peaches from Ham Orchards, east of Terrell

"I think it's fair to say that the majority of the crop was damaged," says Dianne Eckhardt, a third-generation peach grower near Fredericksburg and president of the Hill Country Fruit Council. "There will be good vegetables and other products, but peaches will be hard to come by."

Parker County AgriLife extension agent Jon Green says the same is true for his area west of Fort Worth. The orchards in the northwest part of the county got frozen out, he says, although a handful of smaller growers closer to Weatherford report some survivors.

"We're saying we're going to have a very small crop," he says.

But east and southeast of Dallas, the peach picture has a better blush.

"East Texas has a decent crop," says Danville Farms peach grower James Robinson in Kilgore. Ham Orchards east of Dallas also reports a healthy harvest.

With other Central Texas sites northeast of the Hill Country, the harvest is variable, but overall farmers are having a good year.

"We've got lots of peaches," says Fairy Nell Lightsey of Lightsey Farms in Mexia. The Lightseys are familiar faces at the Dallas Farmers Market, where Ms. Lightsey's daughter, Lisa Lightsey Hadden, sells produce on weekends.

"We have a wonderful peach crop this year," says Ben Cooper in nearby Fairfield. His family's Cooper Farms supplies Central Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market and Kroger in Dallas.

"You're probably wondering why the Hill Country crop was wiped out and we weren't," he adds. "We have wind machines ... and we can heat our orchards with that, and it saved our crop."

Kim Pierce is a Dallas freelance writer.

•Pick-your-own peaches: www.pickyourown.org; www.picktexas.com. Each site lists growers by county. Peaches are more likely to be available east and southeast of Dallas.

•Ham Orchards: Family-run orchard and stand with fresh peaches, peach ice cream, cobblers and more. The Hams doubled the size of their bakery this year. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Aug. 15. On State Highway 80 east between Terrell and Elmo; www.hamorchard.com.

•Stores and farmers markets: Some stores, such as Central Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market and Kroger, carry Texas peaches. The Dallas Farmers Market and many other farmers markets have Texas peaches, too.

CLING: The flesh clings to the pit, even when the peach is ripe. Early-season peaches are usually cling varieties.

SEMI-CLING: As the name implies, the flesh clings some, but not as tightly as with clings. These varieties come off the trees in June.

FREESTONE: The flesh separates easily from the pit. These are harvested in June and July.

TO SKIN A PEACH: With a knife, carve an X on the bottom, immerse in boiling water 15 seconds, then plunge into an ice bath. The skin should slip right off.

We e-mailed several area foodies and asked them for their favorite peach recipes.

•"I love to eat them straight off the tree," wrote Sharon Van Meter, executive chef of the Milestone Culinary Arts Center. "But when they are going south, I make Steve Raichlen's Honey Bourbon Peach Salsa and use it on anything I grill."

•Karen Cassady, manager of Central Market's cooking schools, says peach season means plenty of Peach and Arugula Salad from a Gourmet magazine recipe.

•Brad Murano, author of the local food blog The Brad's Adventures in Food and chief creative officer at SplashMedia.com, likes clafouti and recommends Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert's recipe.

•Slow Food Dallas leader and chef Claudine Martyn flavors her Ripe Peach Soup with lemongrass syrup. She says she deliberately makes more syrup than she needs for the recipe. "One-half cup is used in the soup, and I use the other half cup to sweeten green tea or add to a lychee martini."

•"Last year, I learned that the most succulent peaches were super-ripe when I bought them, just about to go bad," wrote Marilyn Horton, the chairman of the Coppell Farmers Market Committee. Her favorite peach pie recipe comes from a 1972 Monroe, La., Junior Charity League cookbook that she holds together with a rubber band.

Kim Pierce