maple peach ice cream
Summer is shining in to my core. I am soaking up the sun and warm air and abundant produce.
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It's finally time for fresh peaches, which always test my patience. My grandmother Mimi used to like Georgia peaches best. She'd drive from Charlotte to get them and bring back big woven baskets full, to store under the kitchen table until the peaches were just ready to eat. (I might be speaking out of turn, but I think my South Carolina-born mother agreed with this disloyal errand.) Wherever you get them, plan ahead and let your peaches ripen in a paper bag.
I didn't even like peaches until I tasted peach, basil, and mozzarella salad, when, after years of aversion, I realized that peaches are so much more than slimey and syrupy sweet. They are bright, fresh, tender, and perfectly delicious in a galette with their unexpected friend black pepper. And in the South, there's hardly a better way to eat them on a July day than in fresh peach ice cream.
When I set out to make peach ice cream, I had the benefit of 3 just-ripe peaches on my kitchen counter. (Leftovers from oatmeal adventures that I will report to you soon.) It was just enough for a quart of ice cream.
I researched peach ice cream recipes and found too many lists of ingredients with instant vanilla pudding, sweetened condensed milk, and other saccharine cover-ups. What I had in mind was old-fashioned, simple, and not too sweet. (After all, I've gone to a lot of trouble lately to not eat sugar, and I don't want to throw my body completely out of whack. OK, more on that later; I know we have a lot to catch up on.)
This version is simple, peach-centered, and not too sweet. Just what I wanted. And I love that includes a hint of maple flavor, a great memory from our trip to Vermont last fall.
Here's another nostalgic moment for me: it's been about 2 years that I've been blogging to you. In 2012 there was a stars and stripes chiffon cake that I was sure you would love. I wanted to share it, so I did. And then some more, and some more, and piles of recipes and dirty dishes later, here were are.
Let's celebrate 2 years of cooking together and take advantage of summer's best. The recipe for peach ice cream follows.
Maple Peach Ice Cream
Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine
3 ripe peaches
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons best quality vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (preferrably Grade B)
First, peel, pit, and chop your peaches. Remember how to peel peaches in a hot water/cold water bath? Let's do it. Slice and chop the peaches in 1/2-inch pieces. Mix chopped peaches with lemon juice, cover, and reserve in the fridge until ready to use. Reserve pit and peels to flavor the ice cream base.
Next, heat heavy cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Add peach pits and peels and bring just to a simmer. Do not allow to come to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain mixture into a bowl and stir in vanilla. Set aside the saucepan to use again.
Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk in half of the cream mixture until smooth.
Return the remaining cream mixture and the egg-cream mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat to prepare custard. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon to avoid burning. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until mixture coats the back of a spoon. If you have a candy/fry thermometer, use that to keep an eye on the temperature so that it reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and strain again. Stir in maple syrup. Cool custard in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup of the chilled custard with the reserved peaches. Transfer the puree and the remaining custard to an ice cream maker. Freeze and churn according to the instructions for your ice cream maker. (Mine takes about 25 minutes.) Use a spatula to transfer to a 1-quart, freezer-safe container. Freeze for about two hours to firm up before serving.
If you were born in the late 70's or early 80's, you might also detect a familiar, nostalgic flavor from your childhood; yeah, we tasted it, too. Orange Flintstones push-up pops.
I didn't even like peaches until I tasted peach, basil, and mozzarella salad, when, after years of aversion, I realized that peaches are so much more than slimey and syrupy sweet. They are bright, fresh, tender, and perfectly delicious in a galette with their unexpected friend black pepper. And in the South, there's hardly a better way to eat them on a July day than in fresh peach ice cream.
When I set out to make peach ice cream, I had the benefit of 3 just-ripe peaches on my kitchen counter. (Leftovers from oatmeal adventures that I will report to you soon.) It was just enough for a quart of ice cream.
I researched peach ice cream recipes and found too many lists of ingredients with instant vanilla pudding, sweetened condensed milk, and other saccharine cover-ups. What I had in mind was old-fashioned, simple, and not too sweet. (After all, I've gone to a lot of trouble lately to not eat sugar, and I don't want to throw my body completely out of whack. OK, more on that later; I know we have a lot to catch up on.)
This version is simple, peach-centered, and not too sweet. Just what I wanted. And I love that includes a hint of maple flavor, a great memory from our trip to Vermont last fall.
Here's another nostalgic moment for me: it's been about 2 years that I've been blogging to you. In 2012 there was a stars and stripes chiffon cake that I was sure you would love. I wanted to share it, so I did. And then some more, and some more, and piles of recipes and dirty dishes later, here were are.
Let's celebrate 2 years of cooking together and take advantage of summer's best. The recipe for peach ice cream follows.
Maple Peach Ice Cream
Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine
3 ripe peaches
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons best quality vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (preferrably Grade B)
First, peel, pit, and chop your peaches. Remember how to peel peaches in a hot water/cold water bath? Let's do it. Slice and chop the peaches in 1/2-inch pieces. Mix chopped peaches with lemon juice, cover, and reserve in the fridge until ready to use. Reserve pit and peels to flavor the ice cream base.
Next, heat heavy cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Add peach pits and peels and bring just to a simmer. Do not allow to come to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain mixture into a bowl and stir in vanilla. Set aside the saucepan to use again.
Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk in half of the cream mixture until smooth.
Return the remaining cream mixture and the egg-cream mixture to the saucepan and heat over medium heat to prepare custard. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon to avoid burning. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until mixture coats the back of a spoon. If you have a candy/fry thermometer, use that to keep an eye on the temperature so that it reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and strain again. Stir in maple syrup. Cool custard in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup of the chilled custard with the reserved peaches. Transfer the puree and the remaining custard to an ice cream maker. Freeze and churn according to the instructions for your ice cream maker. (Mine takes about 25 minutes.) Use a spatula to transfer to a 1-quart, freezer-safe container. Freeze for about two hours to firm up before serving.
If you were born in the late 70's or early 80's, you might also detect a familiar, nostalgic flavor from your childhood; yeah, we tasted it, too. Orange Flintstones push-up pops.
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