I’m always on the lookout for rich, creamy delicious peach ice cream. Gelato would work, too. I’d be grateful for any suggestions in eastern MA for ice cream shops or small batch manufacturers. I just want the flavor to be intense. Thanks very much.
There will be no local stone fruit this year, but normally, Benson’s in West Boxford makes sublime ice cream from seasonal peaches. You could ask them what they plan to do this summer.
From Benson’s FB page (website has been hacked):
It is an exciting fruit week here at Benson’s! We have lots of Fresh Native Red Raspberry available, including Frozen Yogurt and we have Fresh Native Black Raspberry and Fresh Native Blackberry. We also have Fresh Native Red Raspberry Sorbet (dairy free) and we are making Fresh Native Blackberry Sorbet today (available tomorrow). We got a bunch of fresh Pennsylvania peaches to make Fresh Peach tomorrow (available on Wednesday) and we are going up to Maine for Fresh Wild Maine Blueberries on Thursday to make Fresh Wild Maine Blueberry over the weekend. Now is the best time for fruit flavors all year! Don’t miss out!
The black raspberry is excellent, and their peach typically is too, but not sure how the PA peaches will be.
Local peaches will be hard to come by. Erickson’s in Stow MA would be a site to check out.
Let us know what you find?
Great suggestions. Thanks so much. I’ll report on what I find. May take a week or two to get out to that area. Supermarket peaches are as hard as baseballs.
Trader Joe;s has had Georgia peaches, which were pretty good after a few days in a brown bag.
And I have found NJ peaches at a local farm stand that were pretty good too.
I just came back from Bensons. Got the Peach and Red Raspberry, 1/2 Pt each. They were both incredible.
Edit:
Black Raspberry is done for the season
I got Georgia peaches on sale at Hannaford the other day (77cts/#). They are small, and on the hard side. With the caveat that I do pride myself on being able to choose produce well, I got just a few of the more promising ones, figuring that I could always make compote, or bake with them, if they were hopeless. But I had the tenderest one today, and it was quite good.
It has always surprised me that peach ice cream is not a year-round supermarket item. I see Breyer’s and Turkey Hill brand peach sporadically in the summer, and that’s about it. On occasion, I’ve softened vanilla ice cream, adding chopped fresh or canned peaches, peach preserves, and almond extract, then refroze it. Not pretty, but pretty delish!
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I probably didn’t need to know that the peach ice cream is good…but I’m glad I do!
Will take a ride after dinner…Thanks!
jp licks usually has peach ice cream during the summer
I should try this, we often put canned peaches on our plain yogurt
If you’re driving west of Boston Kimball’s in Westford or Carlisle usually has peach ice cream in August. I would call first just to be sure.
Brilliant solution. I can make it as peachy as I like.
Thanks to all who came through with suggestions.
You’re welcome. It’s also great with apricot (WHY is there never apricot ice cream?) or with canned pears, except that pear preserves are a rare find. I have pureed dried pears that were soaked in amaretto, instead.
Look at page 251 of “My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking” by Niloufer Ichaporia King for a fantastic dried-apricot ice cream recipe (I’ve made it several times), garnished with the almond-like kernels of the apricots. Or, the web is rife with fresh apricot ice cream recipes (e.g., http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9835-apricot-ice-cream).
I know, I know, you all want to buy the ice cream – peach, apricot, whatever – already made, not make it from scratch, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do.
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I don’t mind making ice cream but peach ice cream is a summer treat that I look forward to because its summer and peach season,
and its portion control.
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Deus ex machina. Totally unannounced and unexpected a friend stopped by today with several perfectly ripe peaches his cousin brought up from more southern climes. I ate one and it dripped splendidly down my arm. I’m going to go with Greygarious’ suggestion and soften up some vanilla ice cream.
Great site, HO. I was on that other place under a different name but rarely posted. From there, I learned about Russo’s, New Deal and many great restaurants. It’s great to see the migration here.
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I would like to find plain unflavored ice cream. Not vanilla, plain/no added flavor.
That way you can mix whatever you want
Locutus, Ranc’s in Lexington usually has sweet cream ice cream on the menu. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have vanilla in it. I’m not sure if the other locations also have it.
Yes, sweet cream ice cream ought not to have vanilla in it (Toscanini’s also carries it, as does Christina’s, I think), nor should fior di latte gelato.
I like smooshing things into a plain ice cream base, myself, and I find that ice creams with a touch of vanilla provide a better canvas for other flavors layered on them (fruit or otherwise) than sweet cream. A thin vanilla base works best, not a more custardy one. I also think the smooshed result tastes best when eaten right after the smooshing (it has this lovely, soft consistency) than if refrozen hard.
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