and another weekend gone by
Recipe: white peach sorbet
Saturday afternoon and evening, Jeremy and I drove down to Boulder to meet up with several friends for TEDx Boulder. I was pretty excited because I love TED talks and my friend Andrew was putting on an independent TED (thus TEDx) for Boulder. That, and my very own Jeremy was giving one of the TED talks that night. How could I not go?
tedx boulder
1400 people
vienna teng
Just some quick thoughts from that evening. I really enjoyed both of our musical performers: Jonathan Spottiswoode and Vienna Teng. Actually, I had no idea who Vienna Teng was and now I am hooked. Plenty of excellent talks on education, community, energy, environment, and making the world a better place. Some talks were like glorified Ignite talks and I’m on the fence about how appropriate they are at a TED event. There were a handful I felt lukewarm about and then there were two in particular that I thought were just wrong: one guy who gave a sales pitch over and over again (great idea, but did you need 15 minutes to say it five times? snoozefest) and another from a crank spewing bunk for 18 minutes – and poorly at that. How these two were allotted more time (talks ranged from 3 minutes to 18 minutes) than anyone else is remarkable. I wish that time had been given to someone more deserving like…
my congressman, jared polis
Jared Polis, my House Representative, rocked it with his talk on investment returns on early education. He is a superstar and I’m glad the organizers were so accommodating of his insane schedule, because for me, his was the best talk. My favorite presenter was Jeremy, who I think had the most challenging task at hand – to explain his research to the lay person. What I love about my astrophysicist is that he is sincere, humble, honest, and a damn fine scientist and educator.
jeremy discusses water in the universe
Really, the biggest offender of the evening was the heat. Chautauqua Auditorium is an amazing venue, but it is a barn and when the event started at 4pm – the hottest time of day – they had to shut every possible door and window to keep the place dark for the presentations. They didn’t allow food or drink because they would get rodents in the auditorium, so we all sat there sweating together. Times like these you really wish you had something nice and cold like some seasonal white peach sorbet.
ripe white peaches
slice in half and the pit should come out easily enough
I made this last year, but by the time I got around to processing the photos it was winter and I figured everyone would be confused. So now that it’s the right season and white peaches are gracing the markets with their heavenly fragrance, it is time to get your stone fruit on. I make heaps of ice creams in summer for Jeremy and guests that come over to my house, but the sorbets are for me (okay, and for any guests). When I want a cold treat, it is sorbet all the way. And it’s so easy to make!
place diced peaches in saucepan with water and cook
add sugar
The recipe is a variation of David Lebovitz’ nectarine sorbet. The fruit is front and center, the way it ought to be. But definitely definitely definitely add that touch of lemon to help enhance the flavor.
some lemon juice
and a little scoopy
I generally avoid cooking my fruit because I like it in raw form, but you won’t notice any missing flavor from this version. It’s absolutely peachy.
a nice cool taste of fruity summer
White Peach Sorbet
[print recipe]
from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
7 ripe white peaches, peeled and pitted
2/3 cup (160 ml) water
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tsp kirsch or 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
Cut the peaches into medium dice pieces. Place in a medium saucepan with the water and cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally and checking until they are soft – about ten minutes. If you need to add more water, do so. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the sugar. Stir and let cool to room temperature. Pour the contents into a blender and purée until smooth. Stir in the kirsch or if using, the lemon juice. Chill completely in your refrigerator and churn in your ice cream maker. Makes about a quart.
August 9th, 2010 at 1:10 am
Absolutely peachy indeed! This sounds so lovely, a perfect summer dessert. Mmm.
Wei-Wei
August 9th, 2010 at 4:11 am
White peach is such an elegant fruit! I really need to get an ice-cream maker!! Drooling at the sight of it!
August 9th, 2010 at 5:16 am
Perfect summer fruit and what good use you have made of it. I like to use my peaches by freezing them and using them as ice cubes in wine, gives such a nice depth of flavour and also looks great….
August 9th, 2010 at 5:41 am
This looks so easy and delicious. I wonder what it would be like next to the sweet bean soup you made. I can’t get that stuff out of my head!
August 9th, 2010 at 6:02 am
I love white peach sorbet. We are a couple of months away from stone fruit season down here.
August 9th, 2010 at 8:17 am
This sounds perfect. I have been craving Colorado peaches for a few weeks now. When I find them, this will definitely be on the must-make list.
August 9th, 2010 at 8:23 am
This looks so delicious! I just got my wisdom teeth removed (ouch!) and have been eating lots of raspberry sorbet. This would be a nice twist to my menu! Bring me some? ;)
August 9th, 2010 at 10:39 am
i saw vienna teng on facebook a couple of years ago in a random photo album and what a coincidence to see her here again! i love white peaches and can’t believe the summer season is almost over. got to enjoy all the good eats now.
August 9th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
I love Vienna Teng. I normally don’t pick peach as a dessert, but on the odd chance I do I am never disappointed.
August 9th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
I’m so jealous of the Ignite talks and now this – Tedx Boulder! Sounds like Jeremy pulled it off like a rockstar, so kudos to him. It’s so difficult to adjust the level of your communication when your own understanding is so intensely detailed. And while the fiance is a sucker for ice cream, I’m kicking myself for not convincing him to make peach sorbet with this latest batch. Maybe next week :)
August 9th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
That looks utterly beautiful. I love white peaches.
August 9th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
You have no idea how Bill and I would have loved to sit in Jeremy’s presentation. Probably because we are fascinated and curious about things of the sort :)
Peaches are everywhere and I am just loving it. This is truly the best time of the year for them right now and I can’t wait to use some of ours for sorbet!
August 9th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
Gorgeous peaches! I can almost imagine their fragrance. I love TED talks.. How cool that someone thought to independently organise a local one!
August 9th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
do you have a cake recipe using fresh peaches?
August 9th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Peachy recipe ;) Lovely. Thanks for the recipe!
August 9th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Wow! It’s a goal of mine to sit in on a TED talk one day. I remember when they released a list of the attendees from 2007 or something and it was just CEO after CEO populating the audience. How awesome that Jeremy gave a talk; can’t wait to see it when it’s posted!
August 10th, 2010 at 7:54 am
beautiful images peach and sorbet. This will be the first sorbet I will be making when I get my icecream maker….
August 10th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Delicious!
Vienna Teng is AMAZING. I saw her live in a really intimate venue in Houston several years ago. Really, really special time.
August 10th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Thanks for the TED links. I am a big believer in what your congressman presented. We live in Oregon, where the state budget cuts have just forced our local districts to remove another 8 days from our calendar. I wrote an editorial for our local paper a few weeks ago about how if we don’t pay up front (education, health care) we have to pay on the other end (prisons, expanded welfare-type programs, etc.). It is my new favorite diatribe.
Will be making that sorbet soon. We picked some fresh peaches a few days ago. They should be perfect.
August 10th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Love the TED videos, looks interesting.
I have never made sorbet with peaches, the pics looks simply yummy and professional! Yummy-0!
August 11th, 2010 at 3:14 am
So cool that Jeremy presented at TEDx. I’ve enjoyed videos from other TED mtgs in the past.
Peach sorbet looks perfect right now on a hot summer day.
August 12th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Great timing, I just picked a bucket of plums yesterday and thought it would be great to make sorbet with them, and this White Peach Sorbet sounds wonderful! I am going to experiment with this recipe and use plums since I just picked them and can’t beat the price….. and I am going to try orange instead of lemon and a pinch of cinnamon. Kind of a rif on a cold plum soup I have made bedore. I hope it works, fingers, eyes and toes are crossed. But next time I go to the store, I am going to get white peaches and try this recipe exactly as you have posted it. Thanks so much I love your site and have tried some of your other recipes with great success!!
Sincerely,
Lesley
August 18th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Tokyo Terrace – oh well, twist my arm to make me come to Tokyo :)
The real LA love story – I thought Vienna Teng was amazing. So talented. Reminds me a lot of Tori Amos.
Caitlin – you guys should be able to get lots of lovely peaches for a while yet, right? Mmmmm.
Helen – I’d gladly trade you peach sorbet for that gorgeous peach jam!! hee hee.
Y – oh yes, they have lots of independently organized TEDx events around the world! I’m sure there might be some near you.
Jamie – at the moment, no. Maybe next summer (my baking schedule is off right now – too little time).
Christine – I’ll be sure to post a link if they put the videos up!
Science Teacher Mommy – Jared Polis is a very very good man. I think he stands for a lot of good things in this world. We need more folks like him at every level (but at the highest levels is certainly helpful!) Good on ya!
Lesley – thanks!!
September 14th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
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