Peach ice cream

I had a request recently for an ice cream recipe that contained no eggs.  There are two main kinds of ice cream in the U.S., custard-style ice cream and Philadelphia-style ice cream.  So that it is clear what the differences are, think of it this way:  Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s ice creams and gelati are custard-style frozen desserts, and Breyer’s and Turkey Hill Philadelphia-style are “Philadelphia-style ice creams. Since Breyer’s mint chocolate chip and vanilla are my two favorite ice creams, I guess I like this one better.
I was discussing ice cream the other day with my peaches purveyor the good folks at Brooklawn Farm Market, and the subject of peach ice cream came up.  One of the girls in the store asked me if I knew a good peach ice cream recipe, since she is allergic to eggs. So I went to work, and came up with this little gem.  Try this for a wonderful treat. The key here is to follow your ice cream maker’s instructions exactly.  If I’ve learned something from making ice cream, it’s that my ice cream maker, the Cuisinarts (Cooks’ Illustrated’s favorite one) recommends freezing for 20 minutes, and doing it longer makes the finished product worse, not better.  So try this and let me know how it works out.

Philadelphia-Style Peach Ice Cream.Prep Time: 15 minutesCook Time: 5 minutesTotal Time:20 minutesFreezing time:  20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large, sweet peaches, peeled and pitted
• 1/2 cup peach nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Preparation:

Heat the cream in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edge. Do not let the cream boil. Remove from the heat and add the salt and sugar, stirring until they dissolves completely. Cool to room temperature. Cut the peaches into eighths and place in the blender with the peach nectar. Blend until the peaches are almost pureed, but leave some small pieces of peach. Stir the peach purée and vanilla into the cooled cream. Cover with plastic wrap so that the wrap rests directly on the mix and refrigerate until cold or overnight. Freeze in 1 or 2 batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. It’s wonderful that way, but to make it even better, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours. Makes about 6 cups