The Cool Fuzzies

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking around a farmers market with peach juice running down my chin. I’d just sampled a sweet, juicy yellow peach, an Elberta. It was better than any fancy fruit dessert, so I bought a bunch of ‘em.

Then I spied a stand with some great-looking white peaches I’d never tried before. They were more subtle than the Elbertas but delicious in their own way, so I bought eight. But I couldn’t pass up the Lady Zees (I love the name), so I bought five of those.

One hour and 20 peach samples later, I was hot, tired, stuffed and wondering what I was going to do with 15 pounds of peaches. A good peach is always great on its own, but I decided I had to find some other ways to use fresh peaches.

I certainly could have made pie and cobbler, but once peaches are cooked, it’s hard to appreciate each variety’s subtle nuances. Given the bounty I’d just hauled home, that seemed a shame. Instead, I started thinking about all the things that could be done with uncooked peaches. Here are a few:

Peaches and Cream: The next best thing to eating a fresh peach is eating it with cream.

Peach Smoothies: To make smoothies, peel, pit and puree peaches. Add other summer fruits, fine sugar or honey, lemon juice and ice cubes and blend until smooth. Variations on the smoothie include peach cocktail, peach shake and frozen desserts. For the cocktail, add the liquor of your choice; for the shake, replace the lemon juice with yogurt; for the frozen dessert, fill freezer molds with the smoothie mixture, freeze and serve.

Peaches and Grains: Serve peaches with oatmeal or cereal. Or fill a Champagne glass with layers of sliced peaches, yogurt and granola. Top off with a few seasonal berries.

Peaches with Cheese: In “The New Basics” (Workman Inc., 1989), Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins suggest a variety of peach and cheese combinations: sliced peaches over fresh ricotta, peaches with dollops of fresh chevre, with slices of mozzarella and a bowl of toasted pine nuts or wrapped in prosciutto, drizzled with fresh lemon juice, sprinkled with freshly ground pepper and topped with Parmesan.

Peaches with Berry Sauce: “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook” (Knopf, 1979) suggests pureeing raspberries and/or strawberries, flavoring the puree with a bit of lemon juice and pouring it over sliced peaches.

Peach Trifle: Line a glass bowl with slices of sponge cake or lady fingers that have been soaked in almond liqueur. Add a layer of whipped cream, then a layer of sliced peaches. Continue layering until the bowl is full. Top with minced toasted almonds or toasted granola.

Moroccan Peaches: In “The Cook’s Garden” (Viking, 1992), Sheridan Rogers describes a Moroccan dish in which peeled peaches are sprinkled with sugar and rose water and refrigerated for several hours. Before serving, they are sprinkled with ground cinnamon and garnished with mint leaves. A variation on this dish omits the cinnamon and mint and adds fresh, coarsely chopped pistachios and pale pink rose petals. Serve it with whipped cream.

Bubbly Peaches: Rogers also suggests sprinkling fine sugar on peeled, sliced peaches and soaking them in champagne.

If you must cook your peaches, here are a few quick ideas.

Peaches on Waffles: Saute peaches in butter with a pinch of cinnamon and serve over waffles. This is also great on vanilla ice cream.

Peach Pancakes: Make standard pancake batter. Peel, pit and thinly slice peaches and cut each slice into thirds. Place a spoonful of batter on the grill and when the pancake bubbles around the edges, place peach slices on top. Flip and cook until golden.

Peach for Dessert: “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook” has a peachy dessert with several variations. Slice peaches in half, pit and fill the cavity with any combination of the following: butter, white or brown sugar, lemon juice, nutmeg, chopped nuts, raisins and brandy. Bake at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes.

Yum. Maybe I didn’t buy too many peaches after all.