Sunday, September 30, 2012

Capturing The Last Bites Of Summer

Peaches & Cream (with a little bourbon & brown sugar)

I had to go out of town recently and had a dilemma... what to do with all the fresh produce on the counter before I leave? There were tons of grapes, a whole lot of two different kinds of tomatoes, and 5 peaches. On our budget, this stuff is like gold. I had to make the best use of it that I could, and I only had a few days to do it. It wouldn't keep until I got back.

First up... the five peaches. A nice lady at church shared the last late fruit from her tree. They were lovely and fragrant. We could have just eaten them as is, but I wanted to do something a little more special with them. It's not every day that we get such beautiful ripe fruit and it will be a long time until peaches are in season again. Then I remembered seeing a recipe for peach ice cream that sounded kind of slightly spectacular...

Peach, Bourbon & Brown Sugar Ice Cream
adapted from Serious Eats

4-5 ripe peaches
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp molasses
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp bourbon

Wash, dry, and cut the peaches into large chunks. Don't bother peeling them.

Blend the first five ingredients together in a blender or food processor until the peaches are completely pureed.

Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Simmer for 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Take off heat and let cool to room temp.

Stir in the salt and the bourbon, then transfer the mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours or overnight.

When it's fully chilled, process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer the soft ice cream to a freezer container and put in the freezer for at least 3 hours.

My Notes: If you have dark brown sugar, use it and omit the molasses. The bourbon is not a strong presence in the finished ice cream but I would be afraid to add more as it might interfere with the freezing. Still, I like that it's in there and just because it isn't a strong flavor doesn't mean it's not adding to the overall deliciousness. Definitely let this stuff sit in the freezer for a few days if you can... the brown sugar really comes forward at the finish if you do. Really nice ice cream. Sweet, subtle, perfume-y, earthy... yummy.  

All-in-all, a fitting finish to summer.
Coming up... my preserve-a-thon continues with concord grapes, two kinds of tomatoes, and much much more! How about you? Preserve anything lately?
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6 comments:

  1. Oooh I have peaches !!! Going to try this!

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    1. And here I thought I was the only one to have peaches so late in September! I hope you like it (let me know, o.k.?)

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    2. Can you forgive me? We ate them before I got to try the recipe (blame my husband for asking for a fresh fruit salad and me for giving in and making it)

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    3. Hey, No forgiveness necessary! I totally get the instant gratification of biting into a fresh ripe peach vs. prepping, cooking, cooling, processing, freezing.... and finally getting to enjoy the peach ice cream a day later!

      I keep buying pineapples thinking I'll make something fantastic, but we just end up eating them cut up, in a bowl, with a fork (and loving every bite!).

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  2. trying to preserve my sanity in the Summer heat that won't end! Needs to cool down before I can justify using a heating element in the kitchen. loved reading and drooling over the Bourbon Peach Ice Cream. It sounds good in 103F heat we're having on the 1st of October!

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    Replies
    1. Wow 103°F?... Yikes! You might want to just freeze slices of fruit and enjoy them that way!

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