Those are some nice Peaches, Melba
Well, here it is a couple weeks into the New year, and we already have a sweet holiday to celebrate. Today is national Peach Melba day. You kids these days may have never even heard of Peach Melba. But, when I first started in the business, it was all the rage. In fact the recipe dates back about 130 years. It was a specialty of the guy who, literally, wrote the book on professional cooking: Auguste Escoffier. He had a habit of naming dishes after famous people (suck up much?), and Peach Melba was no exception. In fact, it is rumored that he once commented: “Those are some nice Peaches, Melba.” No, it really isn’t, and people don’t say that.
But, there was definitely something about a certain miss Nellie Melba that caught his attention since he named this dessert and Melba toast both after her. She was a popular Soprano opera singer who came to France in 1892. At a party thrown by the duke of Orleans, in the Savoy Hotel, where Escoffier was chef, he served a dish he called Pêche au cygne, or “peach with a swan.” served inside an ice swan sculpture. It was Peaches over ice cream, topped with spun sugar . A couple years later, he and his friend Caesar Ritz left the Savoy to open the Ritz Carleton hotel in London (after embezzling money from the Savoy, and getting fired). He added a raspberry puree to the dish and renamed it Peach Melba.
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Did Escoffier really say “Those are some nice Peaches, Melba”?
Again, this is a very recent rumor about Escoffier saying things like this. In fact, I think it goes back about 2 paragraphs. But, he was definitely sucking up to Prince Philip, the duke of Orleans who was having an affair with Dame Nellie Melba, whose real name was Helen Porter Mitchell. She adopted the name Melba after her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. She ended up back with Escoffier at the Ritz in 1897. At the time, she had a cold. So Escoffier made her some thrice baked toast so she had something she could eat. Again, he and Caesar Ritz decided to name the toast “Melba toast”. It would later become a staple in weight loss regimens in Hollywood.
Escoffier really had something for this woman. So, we know about Melba toast , and peach melba. He also named the sauce (a sweet raspberry and red currant puree “melba”. And, at some point he made a dish of Chicken, mushrooms, and Truffles stuffed in a tomato with veloute sauce named Melba Garniture. Either he had a thing for her or found the name a good selling tool. Most likely a bit of both. He definitely had a thing for actresses, though. He also put strawberries and pineapple on curacao sorbet and called it Fraizes Sarah Bernhardt. And, he had a salad Rejane, named after Gabrielle Rejane (a popular actress at the time). But, the Melba name definitely had much better staying power.
So, why are we celebrating peaches and ice cream in January?
This is another one of those dates with unknown origins. Although, it has been on the books since the 1980’s. Obviously, it probably wouldn’t have been a big seller in the middle of January in London circa 1897. Peaches, berries, and Ice cream all say summer. But, thanks to modern heating, refrigeration, and worldwide production and shipping of products like peaches and berries, any time of year will do. And, being stuck inside on a cold day, it’s nice to dream of summer. And, what better way to bring summer than with a light tasty sundae of summer fruit?
Of course, you will get superior fruit in the summer. But, do we really want to quash a mid winter summer’s dream? Why not indulge? Around the time Peach Melba day hit the calendar, I worked in a posh Country club. And, Peach Melba was a favorite among the wealthiest families in the affluent suburbs of Boston. Frankly, I haven’t seen much call for it since those days. Possibly because it became different than Escoffier’s original intent. Bottled Sauce, canned Peaches, and boring vanilla ice cream made it look pedestrian. So, today, let’s bring it back by using fresh peaches, making our own sauce, and using a better quality ice cream. If you’re feeling ambitious and have an ice cream maker, you can even make your own.
Couldn’t we have something hardier?
Of course, something more comforting and warming like apple pie would be more inviting on a cold January day. But, isn’t time just a fluid concept created by men? For more on this, see our New year’s day post. In fact, when the Romans created the modern calendar, January and February weren’t in the original blueprint. There were only ten months. So, technically, these months are made up. So, why not make up a holiday that has nothing to do with the season? I guess it’s all fake news…
And, let’s not forget, Escoffier based most of his work on the work of Marie-Antoine Carême. But, he had the resources to compile all that work in written form and get it out to the masses. A little variation here and there, and Careme’s work became Escoffier’s. So, if he can make variations, so can we. Escoffier was very insistent that his raspberry currant puree was the only sauce that could be used in peach melba. Well, guess what, we reserve the right to make substitutions. In fact, if you don’t have currants, skip them. Peaches aren’t great? Substitute pears or apples, something that is better at this time of year. But, for the sake of the day, let’s try to get the ingredients we need.
Do we really need a recipe to say Those are some nice Peaches, Melba?
Of course, how are you supposed to say Those are some nice Peaches, Melba if there aren’t peaches in your Melba? So, the answer to do we need a recipe is sort of. Really, it’s ice cream, peaches, and raspberry. Not a hard road map to follow. But, some people take things a little too literally. Like when Mitch Hedberg tried to make sprite at home. He discovered it’s more than just lemon and lime. So, for the sake of consistency we’ll give you a recipe today. You can make adjustments as needed. When Escoffier wrote the recipe, he actually left out the currents altogether. So, the original recipe went something like this:
Pick 6 of the nicest, ripe peaches. Poach them in boiling water for about 2 seconds. Sprinkle with sugar and cool in the ice box. Puree 250 grams of fresh raspberries with 150 grams of powder sugar. Make a nice vanilla ice cream. Assemble together. Top with almonds if they are in season.
That’s pretty much it. But, you know us. We want it to be relatively easy. But, we always want to add a little speak too. Frankly, if you’re making a fruit sauce, there should be some kind of booze, like Grand Marnier. And, poaching peaches in plain water ain’t gonna cut it. Especially since it’s January and the peaches aren’t the nicest, ripest. So, what follows is a slightly more complex, but still easy recipe. Enjoy your dessert with a vintage dessert wine like a sauternes or Port, and repeat after me: Those are some nice Peaches, Melba.
Boozy Peach Melba
Ingredients
- 1 Quart vanilla Bean Ice Cream (preferably homemade or higher quality)
- For Sauce:
- 1 Pint Fresh Raspberries, plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 Cup Chambord or other cassis liqueur
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Water
- For Peaches:
- 4 Medium Fresh Peaches
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 2 Cups Sweet white wine like Reisling or Moscato
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 3 inch Cinnamon Stick
Instructions
- Place chambord, sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, cook until the liquid is reduced by 1/2 and becomes viscous, like a syrup. Puree the raspberries with this syrup. Strain out the seeds and refrigerate until needed.
- In another pot, Boil the sugar, wine, cinnamon, and water. Taper off to a simmer. mix well to dissolve the sugar. Allow to simmer a couple minutes until the cinnamon is fragrant and the liquid thickens a bit. Cut the peaches in 1/2, and remove pits. Dip the peaches into the simmering liquid for about 1/2 minute (longer if the peaches aren't very ripe). You want them to soften slightly, but not enough that the skins come off. They should still have a good firm bite to them. Remove from the liquid. Lay out flat, and place in freezer to cool fully.
- To serve: Scoop Vanilla ice cream into a glass. Top with 2 halves of poached pear. You may cut the pears down if you prefer. Drizzle with the sauce and garnish with berries. You can also top with almonds. We prefer candied almonds. Another nice touch is a tuille cookie or small pieces of sponge or pound cake. For an alternative, more modern presentation, try painting a plate with the syrup. Scoop the ice cream into quennel or oval shapes. Intersperse the pieces of fruit with the smaller scoops of ice cream. garnish with sugar threads or tuilles. In short: play with your food.