Frozen Peaches

Ingredients

• 12 large peaches
• 2 cup sugar
• 1 pint water
• 3 egg whites

Method

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks — this is your primary structure. The proteins denature under mechanical agitation, trapping air that will keep the frozen mixture light rather than dense. Use a copper bowl and balloon whisk if you have them; the copper accelerates the process and stabilises the foam, though a metal bowl and electric mixer work fine. Stop when the peaks hold sharp and the mixture doesn't slide in the bowl.

Stone the peaches, break them into rough chunks, and pass them through a sieve or food mill to a fine purée. Don't blend — the friction generates heat that damages the delicate fruit flavour and oxidises the flesh to brown. Peach purée browns quickly once exposed to air, so work fast.

Dissolve the sugar completely in the water over low heat, then cool to room temperature. This syrup prevents ice crystal formation through freezing-point depression: the dissolved sugar disrupts the water's molecular structure, requiring lower temperatures to solidify. Once cool, fold the purée into the egg white foam in three additions, using a metal spatula and a gentle hand. Overworking collapses the foam and toughens the final texture.

Transfer to a shallow metal bowl or baking tray — the increased surface area accelerates freezing — and place in the coldest part of your freezer. After one hour, the edges will firm but the centre will still move. Stir thoroughly with a fork, working the frozen portions inward and breaking up ice crystals before they set. Repeat every 30 minutes for the next two to three hours. Each disturbance prevents the large, mouth-damaging crystals that form in still-frozen mixtures; instead you build a fine, creamy structure. Stop when the mixture is solid but still yields slightly to pressure — it should hold a spoon upright but not be rock-hard.

Serve in chilled bowls immediately. Peach ices from this era were eaten soft, not as scoops, so don't expect modern gelato firmness. The dessert collapses quickly at room temperature; work fast between freezer and table.