Fresh Summer Fruit Gelati: Ontario Peaches, Wild Blueberries, Quebec Strawberries

Peach gelato and Blueberry sorbet

The end of July is a blessèd time in our little corridor.  The peaches are trucking in from the Niagara region and the brambles of raspberries and bushes of blueberries are abundantly available.  In les regions, down-home in the Gaspé, shy wild strawberries are hiding down low where even my father's overzealous lawn-mowing can't reach them.

A trip to Gaspé and then to market find me packed to the gills with all of this fresh local produce: those perfectly ripe peaches, the intoxicating wild blueberries from St-Jean, the heady wild Gaspesian strawberries.  It's a glorious moment, sitting there, popping those berries into my mouth.  It's just a moment you want to freeze in time.

And that's when it goes downhill.  I get glum.  Really,  I do.  Glumly, I sit and stare and those lovely berries, like a teenager thinking about the end of time, just sort of sad that things won't last forever.  Just sad that those berries won't be around when the seasons turn.  What's a forlorn chef to do?  Frozen berries will lose their lustre and canned jams are sickly sweet, but ice cream?  Ice cream lasts forever.



Wild Strawberry Custard Gelato


500 grams of strawberries
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of cream
1 1/4 cups of milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla (ideally you would use 1 vanilla bean)
1/2 lemon juiced (1 tbsp lemon juice)

2 important points before we begin: first, if you can't find wild strawberries, then feel free to use any other fresh strawberry (preferably Quebec strawberries), second, this recipe is scalable - the important part is that there is an equal weight ratio between the milk+cream and the strawberries.

Place the strawberries, 2/3s of the sugar, and cream in a blender.  Blend at a high speed until the strawberries are fully incorporated into the liquid.  Heat the milk and vanilla in a pan until hot.  If you're prone to burning milk when you heat it, then use a double-boiler.  While the milk is heating, separate out 4 egg yolks into a mixing bowl with the rest of the sugar.  Whip the sugar and yolks until the yolks turn light yellow and makes thin ribbons.

Temper the eggs with the hot milk.  Whisk the eggs rapidly, while adding in the milk bit by bit.  If you add the milk too quickly, you will cook the egg yolks and ruin the texture.  Mix the blended cream and fruit into the custard and then whip in the lemon juice to finish.

Once the mixture has cooled, process the mixture in an ice cream maker.



Ontario Peach Custard Gelato


2 cups diced Ontario peaches
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp Orange Liqueur
3/4 cup of cream
1 1/4 cups of milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks

This recipe is almost identical to the strawberry recipe above.  It produces a lovely mild, peach scented, ice cream.

First, macerate the peaches by placing them in a non-reactive bowl with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp of the Orange Liqueur.  Place them in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.  Remove them from the fridge and blend them with the cream, until fully incorporated.

Heat the milk on the stove with vanilla.  Whip the egg yolks and the remaining sugar until the yolks turn a pale yellow and forms thin ribbons.  Temper the eggs, by very slowly adding the hot milk while steadily whisking.  Once incorporated, add in the creamed fruit from the blender.

Once the mixture has cooled, process the mixture in an ice cream maker.



Lac St-Jean Wild Blueberry Sorbet

500 grams of wild blueberries (2 1/2 - 3 cups)
3/4 cup of thick simple syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 lemon juiced (1 tbsp lemon juice)

Add all ingredients in a pot on the stove (preferably a nofn-reactive pot).  Heat slowly to a boil, drop to low and hold at a simmer for 5-7 minutes (until the berries burst).  Remove from the heat and let cool.  Process the cooled mixture in a blender and strain through a mesh strainer to remove the solids.

Process the mixture in an ice cream maker.



Thick Simple Syrup


2 parts sugar
1 part water

Boil until sugar is dissolved.  Store in fridge.