What Do Italians Call a Donut Peach?

I’ve been a very lucky lady this summer. My parents took our entire family (including my siblings and their families) to Italy to celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary. Our first stop was in Venice, where almost everything happens by boat. The city had garbage boats, delivery boats, police boats, ambulance boats, and even fruit boats! On our first day in the city, we headed to the local market to get a few essentials for our stay—and of course, I had to check out the fruit.

A Donut Peach by Another Name…

As you would expect, there were plenty of summer peaches, nectarines, and plums. We even spotted saucer-shaped donut peaches! They still had some apricots and berries, too, although there weren’t as many berries as I expected. We loaded up our basket with everything that looked good.

Shopping was a process. Every variety of fruit had its own item code, so we had to weigh the fruit, punch in the code, and wait for a ticket to print. It was a little confusing. Luckily, an employee offered to help. So I held up one of the donut peaches and said, “We’re trying to find the code for the donut peach!” He laughed and replied, “You mean the ashtray peach?” Sure enough, the fruit was labeled pesca tabacchiera—the word donut (or bombolone, as filled donuts are called in Italian) was nowhere in sight.

Pesca Tabacchiera: What Does It Really Mean?

I assumed that tabacchiera had something to do with tobacco. But when I checked the definition at home, I found out that it actually means “snuffbox” and refers to the flattened shape of the peach. While we think of Saturn’s rings or donuts when we see these peaches, Italians apparently think of fancy tobacco containers.

The Italian ashtray peach tasted a lot like the American donut version—a summer favorite that we often tuck into our seasonal office fruit boxes here at The FruitGuys. The peach I tried was extremely juicy, with thin skin and soft, sweet flesh that melted in my mouth. If you’ve never had a donut peach, watch our video to learn a bit more about what makes it special.

The best part of the trip was spending time with my family in beautiful, historic places—but I’ll always remember the man at the market singing the praises of the ashtray peach!