One day I came into the office and saw a very ripe peach sitting at my desk where my mouse usually sits. The peach gods much have left me a little present for my good behavior, but alas, I found out it was only a fellow co-worker who attempted to finish an entire box of Costco peaches himself…. and gave up. Being the OCD person that I am, I don’t like ripe peaches that bruise easily in my hands when I clench them for firmness. I had disturbing images of myself biting into the peach and gobs of yellow goo flowing off the side of my chin and flying out in angry yellow spurts onto my computer monitor with every bite. No, this can’t be! I don’t have Windex at work!!
So right away after work, I bought an ice cream maker at Costco.
Cuisinart 2-Quart Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
For $60, I was entertained for nearly a month of chopping up summer fruit into the early morning for countless batches of ice cream. I already had two peaches sitting in my fridge, and sliced them up too. Recipe as follows:
Peach Ice Cream
2-3 peaches, diced
1 cup sugar (Suggested: Trader Joe’s Evaporated Cane Sugar, much sweeter & less processed than white sugar)
4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 pint carton of Half & Half
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Directions:
Mix 1/3 cup sugar with lemon juice and add half of diced peaches. Allow to macerate 1-2 hours or overnight. The peaches should look softer and the peach juice will be extracted during the process. While the peaches macerate, combine the remaining sugar with the Half & Half, whole milk & vanilla extract. Blend the entire peach mixture in a food processor or blender, and add to the milk mixture. Stir well and add to the ice cream maker for 20 minutes.
5 minutes before finishing, add the rest of the diced peaches. Gently scoop the ice cream into a container and freeze for 2 hours. Allow to defrost for 15 minutes before serving!
Suggestion: To prevent nicks & scratches to the ice cream maker, use a plastic spoon or rice-cooker spoon.
I made this ice cream to go with berry compote and a tiered vanilla cake for a friend’s dinner party. What a hit!
Note: Be sure to FREEZE the ice cream maker container completely before use. You have to freeze it overnight or until you don’t hear a liquid sound inside of it when you flip it upside down. If you don’t FREEZE the container, you’re going to be as confused as I was at 1 AM on a Friday night.
Here’s what the first 2 minutes look like:
After about 20 minutes, you should get ice cream:
So there you have it! Fresh, home-made peach ice cream with no preservatives or artificial flavors for less than an hour’s work & food items you probably have sitting in your fridge. You can bring them to dinner parties or get-togethers during the summer & feign a domestic diva for the evening =)
