Just peachy

by Daniel Porubiansky

July 03, 2014

Poached Georgia peaches with vanilla bean ice cream.
Special to the Tribune

Peaches are cooked with vanilla bean. Right now at the local farmer’s market in downtown Woodstock on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon and on Tuesdays at the Outlet Mall from 4:30 to 8 p.m., you can find Pearson Farm peaches.

Along with the summer heat comes one of my favorite fruits, the Georgia peach. I mean, after all, we are The Peach State.

Sometimes there is nothing better than biting into a ripe, juicy peach and having the juices run down your face. Mix that with some homemade ice cream and wild berries from your backyard and you’ve set yourself up for what I like to call the quintessential foodgasm.

Right now, at the local farmer’s market in downtown Woodstock on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon and on Tuesdays at the Outlet Mall from 4:30 to 8 p.m., you can find Pearson Farm peaches which happens to be the oldest, family-owned peach grower in the state.

I’ve been using these peaches for over three years, and they are simply delicious.

Here is a simple recipe you can make at home and one that was featured on the three-course tasting menu at Century House Tavern.

To save time you can buy your favorite ice cream at your local grocer but in my opinion there is nothing quite like home-made ice cream.

Poached Georgia Peaches with Vanilla Ice cream

Serves 6

Ingredients for peaches:

6 ripe Georgia peaches

1 bottle of white wine

1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean (sliced and scraped)

Ingredients for ice cream:

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 pint milk

1 vanilla bean (sliced and scraped)

3/4 cup sugar

7 egg yolks

Procedure Peach:

In a medium sized pot of boiling water, blanche your peaches for 10 seconds and immediately remove from water and place in an ice bath to cool. Cut your peaches in half, remove the core, and peel off the skin. In a medium pot, bring white wine, vanilla bean, and sugar to a boil and reduce by half. Turn down the heat to a very slow simmer (do not boil) and add the peaches. Carefully turn the peaches every two minutes. Poach the peaches until they are soft to the touch but not falling apart (approximately 8 minutes, could be two minutes more or less depending on the ripeness of your peach). When finished, remove from the liquid and set aside to cool. Reduce the remaining liquid by half and set aside to cool.

Procedure Ice Cream:

In a medium pot over medium heat, bring cream, milk, vanilla bean and sugar to a boil. In a medium sized mixing bowl, while whisking, slowly add the boiled cream mixture to the egg yolks until all ingredients are combined. This is called tempering your eggs. Return mixture to the pot over low heat and slowly return to a boil, while constantly stirring. Promptly strain the ice-cream mixture through a china cap and into a clean mixing bowl. Place that bowl over an ice bath to cool while stirring occasionally. Refrigerate when cool. This step may be done a day in advance. Your ice-cream base is now finished and can be churned when you are ready. Serve or freeze immediately when finished.

To Plate Up:

In a small bowl, place your two peach halves in the bottom. Drizzle with reduced syrup. Scoop your ice cream over top and garnish with your favorite fresh berries.

Please enjoy and good cooking.