For some time, I have wanted to make a gelato. However, I’ve been somewhat intimidated by the thought of creating this Italian gem because, of course, I want it to be like the smooth, rich and creamy variety we all know and love.
Putting those fears aside, I did the research and discovered quite a bit of literature out there on what makes a good gelato. Some say that a gelato should only be milk with no cream and certainly no eggs, and others say gelato may include eggs, cream, and cornstarch. With all these things swirling around, I decided to make a peach gelato because the pureed peaches would add some smoothness to the finished product.
I adapted this recipe from one I one I found on the web (that I will add here when I find it 🙂 ). One of the keys that I have found to bring a fruit flavor to the fore of an ice cream is to macerate the fruit in a divided portion of the recipe’s sugar content and heat it for about 10 minutes (Thanks Cooks Illustrated!). I have a Mango-Coconut Ice cream that does this to perfection–the post is coming soon.
A couple of the concerns of homemade gelato is the amount of air that is incorporated into the mixture as it churns. Also, due to the higher milk content (and if you don’t use cream or eggs at all), ice crystals will form because of certain at home limitations and the balance of air and fats. I did experience it with this recipe. A possible fix could be to add a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch. Aspettami–a soluzione is coming soon! In the meantime, enjoy this light summery peach gelato!
Peach Gelato
1 cup of heavy cream
2 cups of whole milk
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup of sugar divided
5 ripe peaches (looking for a yield of about a cup and a half to two cups of peaches)
3-5 cubes of crystallized ginger (add to desired level of bite)
To begin, fill a mixing bowl with cold water and some ice and bring a pot of a water to a boil. Carefully submerge the peaches one by one in the simmering water for 30-45 seconds. Immediately take the peaches and place them in the ice bath. After a few seconds, begin to peel the skins away. For more on this process, see: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2013/07/20/how-to-peel-a-peach-perfectly-without-a-knife/. After the peaches have been peeled, pit and cube the peaches into a bowl.
Next, add 1/4 of a cup of sugar to the bowl with peaches and mix well. Let stand for 10 minutes. Then, add the peaches, juice, and diced crystallized ginger, to a pan on medium low heat and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally so that the peaches don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat, and once cooled, either use an immersion blender or mixer on puree setting and puree the peach mixture. Cover and place in the fridge to chill.
For the gelato base, add the milk, cream, and remaining sugar to a nonreactive pan on medium low heat to allow the sugar to dissolve and the milk to lightly steam a bit. Whisk the eggs yolks until they become a pale yellow color. Take the warm milk and cream mixture and gradually add it to the eggs to temper the eggs until about half of the milk and cream mixture has been added to the eggs. Combine the tempered eggs to the other mixture in the nonreactive pan. Raise the temperature just a bit now that the mixtures have been combined. The foam from the custard should disappear and it should begin to thicken. Continue to cook until the custard coats the back of your wooden spoon such that when you run your finger along the back, a line forms. When the custard has set, strain it over a bowl that is set within another bowl that has ice in it. Stir occasionally until the mixture is cooled and then refrigerate.
After about 6-12 hours (depends on how cool your fridge is), combine the custard and the peach puree and follow your ice cream maker’s instructions.
E non vi è…
