Glorious free-stone peaches from the South (well, from anywhere actually!).  One of those fruits that we have to wait,

and wait,

and wait for,

and then pick at just the perfect point of ripeness . . . not a moment earlier or later.  

 

I have always brought a bag of these fuzzy gems home to my parents in the Midwest, since peaches were my father’s favorite fruit.  When we arrived from our 14-hour, long-distance drive from South Carolina, rolling in around midnight, my parents would be waiting up for us, whereupon my dad would quickly devour two peaches right on the spot!  His exact words were, “Now this is what I call a peach!”

Truly, fresh peaches are summer treats, to say the least.

But before leaving for our trips to the Midwest, my husband and I would whip up a batch of fresh peach ice cream, using what has now become our favorite recipe from David Lebovitz’s cookbook, The Perfect Scoop.  We’ve tried them all, and this is hands-down the winning recipe for peach ice cream!

This recipe is unique because it includes sour cream.

I really believe that is the reason why this version is so creamy!

Our four grandsons stayed with us this week, and on top of their ‘to-do list’ was to make fresh South Carolina peach ice cream.  Of course, we used this recipe and allowed our 12-year-old son to learn the ropes and to go through all of the steps (actually shown in each of the step-by-step photos).

The verdict from the grandkids?  Perfect, delicious, amazing!!!!

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it. . . Please let me know what you think!

Just look at the huge chunks of peaches throughout this ice cream!
.
Andiamo a Cucina!  Let’s go to the kitchen!!!
 
First of all:  When using FRESH peaches, peel and slice them into ¼” slices.
If you’re not using your peaches right away, then you can freeze them with the instructions I’ve given you below**
There is absolutely no difference in flavor when you freeze peaches in this way!  YAY!
 
In this case, I used frozen peaches.  Make absolutely sure if you use frozen peaches, that you drain the frozen and thawed peaches from the sugar syrup that they were frozen in . . .
This is because you’ll be adding more sugar to the recipe, and you don’t want it to be so sweet that you can’t stand it!
 
Next, add the sugar to the fresh slices peaches (or drained frozen peaches)
Gently stir in the sugar…..I use a very large cooking spoon that works wonderfully to lift the peaches without breaking them!
Now, with the same large cooking spoon, gently blend in the sour cream
Next, gently blend in the heavy cream.
Now, gently stir in the vanilla extract.
 
Now, add the lemon juice (freshly-squeezed is best), but if not available, this inexpensive store-bought lemon juice will do just fine.
 
With an immersion blender (that we call a ‘boat motor’) mix everything together,
but leaving some nice bits and chunks of the peaches, don’t over-immulse this at all!
 
 
Place the ‘pre-frozen’ bowl into the ice cream maker (Cuisinart) and pour the peach ice cream mixture into it.
Set the ice-cream machine at “ice cream’ and it will automatically program to ’25 minutes’
 
 
 
Let it whirl!
In anywhere from 23 – 25 minutes, your delicious peach ice cream is ready to either enjoy immediately
OR
 
 
or
store in a freezer ice cream container for a few more hours to as long as you need it!
 

Serve by itself or with raspberry coulis sauce for a delightful Peach Melba Ice Cream.  This is also wonderful with little old-fashioned vanilla waffle cookies!

My favorite way to enjoy peach ice cream is to garnish it with fresh raspberries or drizzle some raspberry coulis over the top to make an ice cream version of a Peach Melba.

Mmmmm!

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Luscious Fresh Peach Ice Cream

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  • Author: Roz
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Additional Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
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Ingredients

Units Scale

  • 1–1/3 lbs (about 4 large peaches) fresh or frozen peaches (we freeze peaches every summer)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp. but we like more vanilla flavor)
  • a few drops freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Place a large bowl or container in the freezer to chill it before you get started. This container is what you’ll put the finished ice cream in and it will already be pre-chilled nicely.
  2. Peel and slice the peaches, remove the pits.
  3. Cut the peaches into slices or chunks.
  4. (original recipe calls for cooking the peaches in 1/2 cup of water for 10 minutes; we skipped this step because we like our peaches more fresh and uncooked, except in crisps and pies).
  5. Add the sugar to the peaches.
  6. Blend the peaches and sugar with the sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla extract and the lemon juice with an immersion blender or hand-held electric beater.
  7. Blend until slightly chunky.
  8. Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions (we use a Cuisinart).
  9. Freeze for several hours or overnight until desired level of firmness is achieved.

Did you make this recipe?

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