In honor of our inaugural Peach Week, we’re taking a look at a battle that pits one state against another: Georgia, “The Peach State” vs. South Carolina, “The Tastier Peach State,” which is the nickname Clemson’s official “peach expert” gave SC over a decade ago.

Let’s take a look, battle by battle, at why we think SC peaches come out on top in this so-called “Peach War.”

Battle One | The Numbers

South Carolina

Production: 84,630 tons
Harvested acres: 15,800
Yield: 5.8 tons per acre

Georgia

Production: 34,340 tons
Harvested acres: 7,600
Yield: 4.9 tons per acre

Winner: South Carolina — we’re the largest peach producer east of the Mississippi. Take that.

Battle Two | The History

Mid-1700s: The Cherokee Nation grew peaches in this region.
Late 1850s: Commercial shipping out of the region began.
1935: There were 233 packing houses and three million+ peach trees in Spartanburg County alone.
1984: South Carolina adopted the peach as its state fruit.
1995: Georgia adopted the peach as its state fruit.

Winner: South Carolina — we declared the peach as our state fruit first. Checkmate.

Battle Three | The Taste

“South Carolina stakes claim to the sweetest, juiciest peaches in the Southeast.” — The South Carolina Field Office of the USDA

“The larger South Carolina peach was plump and drippy when I bit into the flesh. The floral aroma tickled my tongue and I tasted hints of nectar and honey. The Georgia peach had a less pronounced flavor and was less juicy.” — Alexa Lampasona of the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Winner: South Carolina — Okay, we’ll admit it. We chose quotes that support our argument.

Where can you find farm-fresh local peaches?