The Weblog
Order Now; Peach Ice Cream
Good evening. This is your weekly reminder that The Wednesday Market is open for orders. Please place your orders by 10 p.m. Monday. Orders are ready for pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Be sure to check the website for all of this week’s offerings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market
In last week’s blog, I said that I’d write this week about peaches and share with you a recipe for homemade peach ice cream.
My husband’s cousins grew up in Ft. Valley, Peach County, Georgia. When Joe’s cousins were teenagers, growing up in the long hot summers there, they worked at the Lane Packing Company. Those were the days when Lane sold their peaches at a simple roadside stand. As we all know by now, the Lanes have turned their small, family-owned orchard into a booming year-round enterprise. Tourists come in droves to visit Lane Southern Orchards these days.
Joe’s Aunt Mary and Uncle Mike were the most genteel, welcoming people I have ever met. When I married into the family, they treated me as if I were one of their own children. Visiting them was an incredible pleasure for me because Aunt Mary was such a wonderful hostess. Staying at her house was like being a guest at a bed and breakfast. My room was appointed with fresh, elegant linens and the bedside stand had a vase of flowers cut from Aunt Mary’s own gardens. She was an adventurous cook and loved to try new recipes for family and friends. It was at Aunt Mary’s house that I had my first occasion to eat peach ice cream. In honor of Aunt Mary, here is her recipe:
Georgia Peach Ice Cream
Pulse in food processor 2 cups peaches and 1 ½ cups sugar. Pour peach mixture in large bowl and add 3 eggs, 2 ½ cups sugar, 1 can evaporated milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring. Mix well and pour into ice cream freezer. Pour in a quart of 2% milk until you reach the fill line of freezer. Freeze according to your freezer directions. Serve with pound cake.
Now, Aunt Mary’s recipe does not call for cooking the ice cream base before freezing. Modern home economists would frown on this recipe, as certain segments of the population, including the elderly, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems are greatly discouraged from consuming raw eggs, due to the risk of salmonella. So, what now?
Here is a modern recipe, featuring cooked custard, that I believe to be as good as Aunt Mary’s, and we know that this recipe, when prepared properly, poses no risks:
Georgia Peach Ice Cream
4 eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar, divided
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
2 cans (14 ounces each) sweetened condensed milk
1 ¾ pounds fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
In a large heavy saucepan, whisk eggs, 1 cup sugar and salt until blended; stir in milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is just thick enough to coat a spoon and an instant-read thermometer dipped in the mixture reads at least 160 degrees. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat immediately.
Quickly transfer to a bowl; place bowl in a pan of ice water. Stir gently and occasionally for 2 minutes. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard.Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
When ready to freeze, in a small bowl, mash peaches with remaining sugar; let stand 30 minutes. Pour custard into cylinder of ice cream freezer; stir in peaches. Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Makes about 3 ¾ quarts. Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/georgia-peach-ice-cream
I hope that you try making peach ice cream for you and your family. Better hurry, before peach season is over. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and we’ll see you on Wednesday at the Market!
Thanks,
Beverly