Page 26 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2025

DINING
With the South growing more peaches than you can shake a stick at, it was only a matter of time before someone tossed a few into the salsa bowl. What came out was something sweet, spicy, and downright addictive.
Peach salsa really took off in Southern kitchens in the '80s and '90s, when cooks started getting bold and mixing local flavor with outside influence. These days, you’ll see it just about everywhere: from backyard barbecues to church potlucks and even fancy farm-to-table restaurants. You will see it served over grilled chicken or pork chops, spooned onto fish tacos, or dug into with chips on a hot afternoon.
Come peach season, local markets are brimming with fresh fruit, and you better believe people are making batches of peach salsa to can and share. There’s nothing quite like popping open a jar in the dead of winter and tasting a little bit of July.
Sure, you can buy it at the store now, but real deal peach salsa made with fresh picked peaches and a touch of Southern love? That’s the kind of thing that makes your taste buds smile and your heart feel right at home.
5 juicy peaches
2 big ole tomatoes 1 mild jalapeño
1 bell pepper
1 peppadew pepper 1 Anaheim pepper 1 banana pepper
1 large yellow onion
3 garlic cloves or 1 elephant garlic clove
Garlic salt to taste
story and photos by
Chelsea Gieselmann
26 | July 2025
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