[1] Churn your own: luscious homemade peach ice cream (photo © Dovile Ramoskaite | Unsplash).

[2] Graeter’s makes a limited-edition peach ice cream each summer. Grab it while you can (photo © Graeter’s).

[3] Even McConnell’s has discontinued its peach flavor (photo © McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams).

[4] No ice cream maker? Here’s a recipe for no-churn peach ice cream (photo © Bourbon And Honey).

[5] The riper the peaches, the better. When peaches seem to be overripe, they may be just right to puree for ice cream (photo © Good Eggs).

[6] Häagen-Dazs discontinued its peach ice cream (above), but now makes peach sorbetto (photo © Häagen-Dazs).

July 17th is National Peach Ice Cream Day. Our favorite childhood flavor (along with pistachio), peach ice cream got nudged out of the lineup before the end of the last century. It was replaced by flavors such as Cookie Dough and Oreo.

Even Talenti, which makes 51 flavors, ditched its Peachin favor of flavors like Banana Caramel Crunch, Chocolate Pretzel and Key Lime Pie.

McConnell’s likewise: 24 flavors include Cherry Cheesecake & Graham Cracker Crumble, Cinnamon & Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Honey & Cornbread Cookies, but no more peach (take a last look at it in photo #3). Only Graeter’s, it seems, remains.

Why? Like anything else, trends. Younger customers have never had peach ice cream. And caramel, cookies, and crunch sound better to them than fruit.

Plus, fresh peaches are only available for four months at best (although frozen peaches work), so only smaller artisan producers tend to make it (look for Graeter’s—photo #2).

We made a batch with fresh peaches (the recipe is below); and it was so heavenly, we’ll be trying the frozen peaches when the summer is open.
 
 
WHAT ARE AMERICA’S FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVORS?

A recent Newsweek article reported on the most popular ice cream flavors in the U.S., based on a YouGov survey of approximately 20,000 adults. The results were released in July 2020.

The most popular flavors are, in order:

 
While we like any ice cream and have a particular fondness for five of those flavors, we’ll be making more peach ice cream next weekend. (Not so amazingly, yesterday’s quart is all gone.)
 
 
RECIPE: PEACHES & CREAM ICE CREAM

This rich and creamy recipe delivers a “peaches and cream” flavor rather than pure peach intensity.

It’s an extremely rich French custard recipe (or “French-style” ice cream), in the manner of Häagen-Daz, which includes eggs.

The recipe can be used with any type of fruit, as long as you have 5 cups of purée. The proportions work for a 4-quart ice cream maker. You can cut it in half.

When making ice cream, use very ripe fruit. Every time we see fresh peaches on sale because they’re so ripe that it’s their “last day,” we scoop them up and make ice cream.

Tips:

 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PURÉE the peaches in a food processor or blender, keeping the 3 cubed peaches aside. You need 5 cups of purée.

2. MIX together in a large bowl the eggs and sugar until smooth. Stir in the 5 cups of purée; blend well.

3. ADD the cream, milk, vanilla, and salt; blend well. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions (do not overfill your machine). Add the cubed peaches (the “inclusions”) according to the instructions for inclusions.

4. PLACE the ice cream in the freezer to harden. But before you do, enjoy a dish as “soft serve.” The flavors are more delicious right out of the churn, rather than after the ice cream hardens.
 
 
MORE PEACH ICE CREAM RECIPES

 
 
> THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FROZEN DESSERTS
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF PEACHES

July is National Hot Dog Month, 31 days to try something new.

We’ve seen hot dogs wrapped in biscuit dough (photo #2), but why not a regular wrap?

That’s what Atoria’s Bakery did with their whole grain lavash (lah-VASH), a flexble flatbread.

Atoria’s makes lavash in Traditional, Garlic & Herb, Whole Grain & Flax, and new Roasted Red Pepper.

We really liked the switch from the standard doughy white bread hot dog roll.
 
 
WHAT IS LAVASH?

Lavash is an Armenian flatbread made with wheat flour, water and salt.

It can be topped with toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic and other seasonings.

When fresh, lavash is soft and thin like a tortilla (but with more flavor), and is used as a sandwich wrap for kebabs and other foods.

It hardens (or can be baked) into a crunchy cracker consistency.

Use fresh lavash for wraps, rollups, panini, flatbread pizza base.

Of course, use it as a substitute for other breads with soup, salads, stews, etc.

You can slice it in advance, or be casual and just tear off pieces.

We’re big fans of Atoria’s Bakery (here’s our review).

You can order their lavash, naan and pita online.
 
 
RECIPE: LAVASH DOGS

Ingredients For 2 Dogs

 
Preparation

1. CUT the sheet a lavash in half, horizontally.

2. GRILL the hot dogs according to package instructions.

If you want, you can also lightly grill the lavash—but not so that it’s too hot to handle.

3. WRAP the lavash around the dog; then add condiments as desired.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF FLATBREAD & LAVASH

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAD
 

30 MORE HOT DOG RECIPES

Beef dogs, chicken dogs, pork blend, turkey dogs, vegan dogs:

These recipes work with any type of dog (leaving off the bacon and cheese for the vegan dogs, of course).

 
 
HOT DOG ROLL RECIPES

[1] Try a hot dog in a lavash wrap instead of a doughy white bread roll (all photos except #2 © Atoria’s Family Bakery).

[2] Hot dog in a crescent roll wrap (photo © Bison Council).

[3] Sheets of traditional lavash.

[4] Look for the Atoria’s package.

[5] Dips with all three of Atoria’s breads: lavash (at left), pita (at right) and naan (at top).

[6] At dinner, lavash in the bread basket.

[1] Braziian Sangria, made with cachaça substituting for vodka or other spirit (photos #1, #2, #3 © Novo Fogo).

[2] Silver (prata) cachaça is not aged; it “rests” in stainless steel vats before bottling. It is also called branca (white), clássica (classic) or tradicional (traditional).

[3] Novo Fogo’s Chameleon cachaça is categorized as an amarela or yellow cachaça. It’s aged in wood, which causes the color to change from clear to yellow. Amarela cachaça can also be called ouro (gold) or envelhecida (aged) cachaça.

[4] It’s easy to turn honey into honey syrup, a simple syrup. The recipe is at right (photo © National Honey Board).

Mention cachaça and most savvy imbibers would respond: Caipirinha!

Cachaça (cah-SHA-sah) is Brazil’s national spirit, and the Caipirinha (kai-puh-REEN-ya, photo #2) is one of the easiest cocktails to make. We’ve included the recipe below.

There are numerous fine cachaca brands available in the U.S. One we’ve been enjoying is Novo Fogo (“new fire”), especially their versatile Chameleon Cachaça (photo #3).

It’s aged for one year in repurposed American oak barrels, just long enough to gather nuances of flavor and aroma: a hazelnut nose and sweet-and-spicy herbs in the palate, finishing with some lively citrus.

Novo Fogo also has an award-winning Two-Woods Series (aged in American oak plus Brazilian woods) and single barrel cachacas aged 2, 3 and 5 years. All are affordable gifts for the cachaça lover.

Discover them and more at NovoFogo.com.

We thank them for these two cachaça recipes.
 
 
RECIPE #1: BRAZILIAN RED SANGRIA

This recipe uses honey syrup. The recipe is below.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients with ice. Garnish as desired.

 
RECIPE #2: AGED CAIPIRINHA

You can make a Caipirinha more special by using barrel-aged cachaça (analogous to a reposado tequila—photo #3).

Over the years, numerous variations have appeared. For example, a Caipiroska substitutes vodka for the cachaça, a Caipirissima replaces the cachaça with rum.

Then came the Lemon Caipirinha, the Strawberry Caipirinha, the Whisky Cipirinha, and so on.

Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture did not want the national cocktail to be sullied with other ingredients, so in order to be called a Caipirinha, they published a decree in 2009. Legally, to be called a Caipirinha, the drink can only be made with cachaça, lime and sugar.

They can only enforce the law in Brazil in commercial establishments; so if you feel the need to play with the recipe, go ahead.

This recipe uses aged cachaça, for more layers of flavor.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE the lime in a shaker until the juice is all squeezed out. Add the sugar and muddle to combine.

2. ADD the cachaça and ice, shake, and strain into a glass with ice cubes. Enjoy!

 
RECIPE #3: HONEY SYRUP

Honey syrup is simple syrup that is made with honey instead of table sugar. It’s the same 1:1 recipe as simple syrup.
 
Ingredients For 1 Cup

*Don’t have superfine sugar? Just pulse table sugar in a food processor or spice mill to superfine consistency.*

†There is a difference between stored and aged cachaça. Stored cachaça is kept in wooden barrels for a non-specified period of time. Aged cachaça must contain more than 50% of cachaça that is at least one year old, and rested in barrels of up to 700 liters. The highest categories of aged cachaça are Premium, aged for a period not shorter than one year, and Extra Premium, aged for a period of than three years or longer. Both of these must contain 100% of cachaça aged in wood barrels.

On July 16, 2018, the city of Buffalo, New York celebrated the first National Blue Cheese Dressing Day, honoring a “special sauce” that’s combined with chicken wings, celery and hot sauce to create Buffalo Wings.

If you’re a Buffalo Wings fan, also note that:

 
There’s a great blue cheese dressing recipe below.

Blue cheese dressing had a distinguished life before the creation of Buffalo Wings in 1964.

While no one can date blue cheese dressing, the history of blue cheese dates to the 7th century to a cave outside the village of Roquefort in France.
 
 
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BLUE CHEESE

Blue cheeses aren’t blue, of course—they’re dotted with veins that are dark blue, blue-green, green or bluish-black.

The veins are Penicillium molds—cousins of the antibiotic. The molds are also relatives of the bloomy mold that covers Bries and Camemberts.

Blue cheese was an accidental discovery.

The documented history of blue cheese begins in the 7th century to a cave outside the village of Roquefort in France.

The legend has is that a distracted young man forgot his lunch of bread and sheep’s milk cheese in the cave (to romantics reading this, the details are that the shepherd saw a beautiful girl).

When he returned months later, the mold (Penicillium roqueforti) had transformed his cheese into what we now known as Roquefort.

Whatever the legend, blue cheese is believed to have been discovered by accident because cheeses were stored at natural temperatures and in the moisture-controlled caves, which are favorable environments for many varieties of harmless mold.

Not everyone could access a cave. But fortunately, blue mold is abundant in the air. It grows rapidly and in proper conditions, it out-competes most other molds in the air [source].

Give it a humid, damp environment with plenty of oxygen—including barns and cellars, where cheese was often stored—and you have the ideal environment for blue mold to grow.

Once cheesemakers realized what was happening, they made pinholes in the cheeses to help the mold penetrate more easily. The practice continues today.

Of the three best-known blues, Gorgonzola is known to have been created around 879 C.E.

Stilton is a relatively new addition, becoming popular sometime in the early 1700s. Subsequently, numerous varieties of blue cheese were created, and still are.

In the 20th century alone, Cambozola and Danablu were created to fill the demand for Roquefort-style cheeses that were more affordable. The double cream blue in photo #7 debuted in 1969.

Great American cheese makers like Point Reyes Farmstead and Rogue Creamery created their cheeses in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

And cheese makers in the U.S. and Europe continue to work on blue cheese recipes to please blue cheese lovers and entice new ones.

So…what about blue cheese dressing?

No one knows when the first cook crumbled or mashed blue cheese into a dressing or sauce. Let’s just be grateful that the concept took off!

Whether as a salad dressing, a sauce or dip, blue cheese dressing is a gift to food lovers. See more uses for blue cheese dressing below.
 
 
POINT REYES FARM’S BLUE CHEESE DRESSING & DIP

One of our favorite blue cheeses is Original Blue from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese in Marin County, California.

Some 15 years ago, they created a blue cheese dressing with it, and it was magnificent.

Alas, it proved impractical to produce over the long term, and it was discontinued. But thankfully, they made the recipe available.

You can substitute a different blue cheese, but as with all cooking, the better the ingredients, the better the finished result.

Even if you don’t use it in dressing, definitely enjoy Original Blue on your cheese plate.
 
Ingredients For Approximately 2-1/2 Cups

[1] Point Reyes blue cheese dressing. The recipe is below (photo © Point Reyes Farmstead).

[2] Original Blue, the cheese used in the dressing recipe (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Cobb Salad with a side of blue cheese dressing (photo © eMeals).

[4] Wedge Salad, another popular use for blue cheese dressing (photo © Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse).

[5] Gorgonzola cheese (photo © Castello Cheese).

[6] Roquefort cheese, the first blue cheese (photo © Castello Cheese).

[7] Double cream blue cheese is a variation introduced in Denmark in 1969 (photo © Castello Cheese).

You’re sure to find your own favorite ways.

[1] Frozen melon cocktail served in melon halves. The recipe is below (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

[2] A Charentais melon is a more refined cantaloupe. While you can’t smell or taste it here, look at the smoothe skin (photo © Marius Kant | Wikipedia).

[3] Charentais melons in a market in France (public domain image).

[4] The recipe requires melon balls, but you can scoop and freeze any melon balls for a quick frozen snack, or to defrost for dessert (photo © American Diabetes Association).

[5] There are many fine tequilas, some with interesting packaging like this bottle from Santo Blanco (photo © Santo Spirit).

[6] You can add some sizzle to your cocktail with Tanteo tequilas in Chipoitle, Habanero and Jalapeño (photo © Tanteo Tequila).

What’s better on a hot day than a a frozen cocktail (or a non-alcoholic slushie—just leave out the tequila).

This recipe, below, comes to us from Melissa’s Produce, which used a Charentais melon, a relative of cantaloupe.

You can substitute cantaloupe or any other melon.

There are also more delicious frozen drink recipes below.
 
 
WHAT IS A CHARENTAIS MELON?

This “gourmet” melon is a more elegant version of a cantaloupe—some call it a French cantaloupe.

It has similar flesh, but was bred to be even sweeter, with a more intense and distinctive aroma of tropical fruit and flowers.

The variety originated in the Poitou-Charentes* region of western France in the 1920s.

It was developed as a refined cantaloupe with a smoother, more aesthetically appealing skin—minimally netted, as opposed to the complete netting on a cantaloupe skin.

The size was smaller, too: a perfect “breakfast for two.”

These melons were almost exclusively available in France, because their thin skin and soft flesh does not travel well.

Thus, while they are prized, there is low production because they are too delicate for commercial shipping.

To please melon lovers across the pond, small amounts were planted and hybrids were created by crossing the Charentais with North American cantaloupes. This created a larger size and a thicker skin for better shipping.

There is limited production of Charentais melons in the U.S. today. But if you have space for gardening, you can buy seeds and grow your own.

Or, a faster solution: get them from specialty produce purveyors like Melissa’s.

(By the way, unlike another famous french melon, the Cavaillon, Charentais melons are not protected by an A.O.C. designation [appellation d’origine contrôlée], which limits by law the specific region(s) where a product can be grown/made [like Champagne and Roquefort cheese, e.g.]. Therefore, Charentais melons can legally be grown anywhere.)

Charentais melons grow 6″ in diameter and weigh 3-4 pounds.

Botanically, the Charentais melon is Cucurbitaceae Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis.

 
The Charentais melon is especially prized in France for its rich, honeyed finish on the palate. The French serve them plain for breakfast, as an appetizer wrapped with Bayonne ham or proscuitto as an appetizer, and as melon balls drizzled with Port or other sweet wine for dessert.

 
RECIPE: FROZEN CANTALOUPE COCKTAIL

You can make this cocktail with any melon (and with cucumber, too). But if you want to serve it in a melon half, you’ll need to find a small cantaloupe.

The frozen cocktail just as delicious in a Collins glass or a Margarita glass—and if you don’t want to scoop out the cantaloupe flesh when you’ve finished the drink, a glass is better.
 
 
Ingredients For 2 Melon Halves

 
Preparation

1. PROCESS all of the ingredients in a blender, adding just enough of the ice to make a slushy drink.

2. POUR into the melon halves. You may need to cut a flat spot on the bottom so that they don’t tip.

3. GARNISH with mint and lime wedges.

 
MORE FROZEN DRINK RECIPES

*Poitou-Charentes, a region on the French Atlantic coast with Roman, Renaissance and medieval history, is now part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its best-known cities are La Rochelle, the region’s capital, which is on the coast; and Poitiers, inland. Other important cities are Angoulême, Châtellerault, Niort, Saintes, Rochefort and Royan.