July 21, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Maryland Peaches
I'm not quite sure why it is, but I don't think Maryland gets enough credit for its peaches. This is high season for this wonderfully sweet and versatile fruit. My favorite farmers, like Dave Hocheimer of Black Rock Orchards, are bringing their peaches to the market by the ton. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can attest, there's a lot to like when it comes to peaches.
Peaches are an important crop in Maryland. They remain in harvest from early July through September. Standard varieties notwithstanding (yellow, white, donut shaped, nectarines) peaches fall into two large families: the cling-stone and the free-stone.
The name says it all. The cling-stone varieties hold onto their pit quite tenaciously, making cutting them cleanly a real chore. If you plan to do something with the peaches that doesn't depend on perfect appearance you can work with the cling-stone. Free-stones give up their pit easily and allow you to cut nice clean slices.
Quite often we will bring under-ripe peaches home. There are several techniques for ripening them. One is to place them in a brown paper bag. The ethylene gas the peaches emit will be contained and hasten their ripening. A similar technique is to place the peaches stem side down on a cloth napkin out of the direct sunlight, and cover them with a second napkin. Within a week they will be perfect.
Here are a couple recipes Jerry came up with.
Classic Peach Cobbler
Ingredients:
6 large peaches cut into thin wedges
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
For biscuit topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water
Preparation
Cook peaches:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss peaches with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a 2-qt. nonreactive baking dish and bake in middle of oven 10 minutes.
Make topping while peaches bake:
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
Remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Bake in middle of oven until topping is golden, about 25 minutes (topping will spread as it bakes).
Peach Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped fresh peaches, peeled if preferred
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons peach brandy
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
Directions:
In a bowl combine peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and peach brandy. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally. Remove peach mixture from refrigerator and drain juice into a cup. Return peaches to refrigerator.
In a saucepan combine 3/4 cup sugar, heavy cream, milk and vanilla. Bring just to a boil.
In bowl whisk egg yolks. While whisking stream in about 1/3 of the boiled cream mixture. While whisking cream and sugar mixture, stream in egg and cream mixture. Return to the heat and continue to heat while stirring.
Mixture will thicken as it returns to a boil. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl set over ice. Add the reserved peach juice.
Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. After the ice cream begins to stiffen, when very close to done, add the peaches and continue to freeze until done.
