Ripe debuts and peak performances
WALK the stands at your neighborhood farmers market and there is so much beautiful produce it is easy to feel overwhelmed by all the choices. It all looks so good, but what should you buy? Is the early season fruit worth the price? Is the asparagus still as good as it looks? What’s at its peak? This week we’re introducing a new occasional feature that will keep you up-to-date on the choicest fruits and vegetables in season at local markets. This way you know that now is the perfect time to pick up a couple of pints of Gaviota strawberries to use in something like these lemonade-strawberry floats with mascarpone ice cream.
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Just in
Cherries: Brooks cherries, right, have arrived in the markets along with Burlats, which means Bings will come around in a couple of weeks. The Burlat and Brooks varieties can be decent in perfect weather -- and this spring has been anything but, so you might want to wait for the Bings. The blushing Royal Anne and Rainier varieties won’t be far behind. Shop carefully and choose only those that are very firm with taut, smooth skin. They’re around $6 a pound.
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Peak season
Strawberries: It’s been a long, slogging spring for strawberry growers, with all the rain and cool weather. But the harvest is really shaping up now and we’re starting to get some berries that have real sweetness and depth of flavor. Probably the best varieties are Seascape, right, Chandler and Gaviota -- taste and see which seems best on that day. The much more common variety Camarosa can be a good berry if it is harvested when it is nearly black. The best are $2.25 to $2.50 a pint right now.
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Last chance
Tangerines: Only the very last of the coolest-climate tangerines are still around; look for Pixies from Ojai, right. Make sure their peels are taut and firm with no slack or soft spots. Especially this late in the season, keep them refrigerated, as their tender skins soften quickly. Figure $2 to $3 a pound.
- Russ Parsons
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Lemonade-strawberry floats with mascarpone ice cream
Total time: 25 minutes, plus 4 hours to overnight chilling and 4 hours freezing time
Servings: 8
Note: From “A Passion for Ice Cream” by Emily Luchetti. The lemon juice, sugar and salt can be mixed together and refrigerated for up to 6 hours in advance. Add the seltzer just before serving.
Mascarpone
ice cream
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar,
divided
1/8 teaspoon
kosher salt
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise with seeds scraped out, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, one-fourth cup sugar and the salt. Cook the milk, cream, vanilla bean (if using) and the remaining one-half cup sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almost simmering. Slowly pour the liquid into the egg-sugar mixture, whisking as you pour. Return the cream-milk mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant plastic or wooden spatula, until the custard reaches 175 degrees and lightly coats the spatula.
2. Strain the custard into a clean bowl, discarding the vanilla bean, and cool over an ice bath until room temperature. Whisk in the mascarpone. Add the vanilla extract (if using). Refrigerate the custard for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
3. If necessary, whisk the ice cream base to combine. Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze until scoopable, about 4 hours, depending on your freezer.
Lemonade-strawberry floats
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
5 cups cold seltzer water
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh
strawberries
1. In a large pitcher, combine the lemon juice, sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the seltzer water.
2. Place some strawberries in 8 (12-ounce) glasses. Fill each with the lemon seltzer water. Add a generous scoop of mascarpone ice cream into each. Serve immediately, with straws and long spoons.
Each serving: 529 calories; 7 grams protein; 54 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 34 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 206 mg. cholesterol; 97 mg. sodium.
