Life is Such A Peach

My Dad once said "If heaven were to smell like one certain something, I think it would smell like fresh picked peaches". I couldn't agree more, Dad.
Every year, my family and I go pick peaches at Legend Hills Orchard in Utica, Ohio. This has been a family tradition for over 49 years! We're serious about our peaches. When we're out there among the rows and rows of delectable fruit within our reach, we tend to go overboard. Always getting WAY more peaches than necessary then realizing after a few days we need to do something with this multitude of fruit. We cannot let something so delicious go to waste.
Pies and cobblers are a delicious option, so is a yummy jam. But we're mid-summer, in the "heat" of it, a sherbert seems like the right kind of late night July treat.
This is my first time making a Peach Sherbet but I have added some notes below to help with your results!

If you don't have an ice cream machine, do not fret. I think close results can be achieved by putting the sherbet mixture in a bowl, into the freezer and stir every 30 mins or so until you get a nice consistency. You'll freeze it the rest of the way for it to get hard. It's all about churning air into the mixture so the more you stir the better. Also, ice cream machines are an awesome kitchen investment. Frozen yogurts, sorbets, sherbets and homemade ice cream are very easy to make and an all year round favorite. Cuisnart makes some very reasonably priced machines and a reliable product.

Wishing you happy cooking and sweeter days,
Lizzy

Sparkling Peach Sherbet-

Recipe courtesy of Cuisine at home Issue No. 88

Makes 1 pint

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar (the recipe calls for 1 c but this year the peaches were very sweet so I went with 1/2c)
1/3 sparkling wine or club soda (I used club soda in mine)
1/4 cup honey
2 lb. fresh peaches (3-4 medium peaches= 1 lb)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (this is to prevent the peaches from browning in the chilling process)
1 c plain yogurt (I used Chobani Plain Greek yogurt, next time I'm going to use Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt. I think it would add another level of flavor.)

Heat the sugar, club soda and honey in a saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Chill mixture until cold. (I put mine in the freezer to speed the chilling process up.)

Bring a lard pot of water to boil (I just used a medium saucepan).

Prepare a large bowl of ice water.

Score an X into the bottom of each peach. Blanch half of the peaches in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock. Repeat blanching and shocking with remaining peaches.

(Note: leave peaches in ice water for about a minute. Do not leave them in too long. I found the skin started to adhere back to the flesh of the peach making it more difficult to remove.)

Peel peaches and cut in half removing pits. (Be very careful when doing this step. The peaches are very slippery. Don't want to lose any fingers over a slippery peach;0)
Puree peaches in a food processor, then pass puree through a fine-mesh sieve.
(You could definitely use a blender or hand blender. Just make sure you get the chunks of peaches pureed.) Stir in lemon juice and chill until cold.

Whisk yogurt and chilled sugar syrup into chilled peach puree.

Transfer sherbet mixture to a 1-2 quart ice cream machine; process sherbet according to manufacturer's directions, about 25 minutes. (I have a Cuisinart Supreme Commercial Ice Cream Maker and it took about 40 mins in my machine.)

Transfer sherbet to a freezer container and smooth the top. Press plastic wrap directly onto the top of sherbet. Cover container with a lid and freeze until firm, at least 3-4 hours. (Whenever I make any type of frozen treat, I place it in the coldest part of my fridge, which is usual the ice box) Sherbet can be stored in freezer up to 1 month. (In our house, it won't last that long. It'll be gone in a couple days:0)