Cool and peachy — without an ice cream maker

Since August chose the “very hot” setting for this part of the month, I wanted something fresh and cold for dessert. With peach season winding down — alas, my favorite fruit — a frozen peach dessert seemed ideal. 

Enter “Peachy Buttermilk Sherbet,” a recipe from Alice Medrich on the Food52.com website.

This one I had to try: Just a few ingredients, and only the freezer and a food processor required. No cooking!

I tweaked the recipe a little, of course, and afterwards had more ideas for customizing the sherbet (the correct spelling, though “sherbert” often is the way it’s pronounced). Side note: Sherbet includes dairy among its ingredients, though not as much as ice cream, while sorbet has no dairy at all.

This easily could be made with nectarines instead, or strawberries. Plums might be too juicy to work, and blueberries not juicy enough. My best advice: Find fruit that is perfectly soft-ripe.

Spices, herbs, or a bit of juice or different extract would be lovely additions. The recipe below is what I created the first time around.

Peachy buttermilk sherbet

Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk, low-fat or “old-fashioned” (full fat)

1/3 cup granulated sugar (use superfine if available)

3 cups peeled peach slices (4 to 5 medium peaches) 

1 teaspoon or more pure vanilla extract

1 to 3 tablespoons peach preserves, and/or juice or water as needed to loosen up the frozen mixture (optional, but see Important note in instructions)

Optional garnish: Fresh peach slices, gingersnaps, fresh blueberries, or a sprinkle of ground cinnamon or cardamom

Instructions:

Combine the buttermilk and sugar, and allow to sit for a few minutes to let the sugar dissolve. Meanwhile, line a metal or aluminum loaf pan with foil or plastic wrap (I used two pieces, one going each direction).

Stir the buttermilk mixture again and pour into the pan, then cover the pan with foil or more plastic wrap, and place in the freezer.

Now prepare the peaches. Cover a shallow baking pan with parchment paper or foil, and place the peach slices on it in a single layer.

Place this pan also in the freezer, but no need to cover it.

When ready to make the sherbet, remove the pan with the frozen peaches from the freezer and allow them to soften for about 15 minutes. More than 15 minutes is OK, up to about 30 minutes. But don’t let them completely defrost.

Take the pan with the buttermilk mixture from the freezer. Remove the cover,  turn the pan upside down on a cutting board, and remove any plastic or foil that sticks to it. Cut the block of buttermilk into 1-inch square pieces.

Now place the peaches and any escaping juices in the bowl of a food processor. Add the buttermilk cubes. Process at first with pulses, then continuous processing.

Important: When I reached this point, the cold ingredients got even colder, and the machine strained to continue. Stop the processing, smoosh the ingredients around, and add some liquid to the bottom of the bowl: The vanilla at first, then the preserves (if using) or some juice or liqueur or even water. This will help loosen up the contents and keep your machine from straining.

Continue processing until the mixture is consistently smooth, stopping as needed to scrape down the mixture.

Serve at once while the mixture is smooth and cold. Garnish as desired.

To save any leftovers for later serving, place the mixture in a freezer-compatible container with a lid. The sherbet will harden up again but will be servable when allowed to sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes or so.

Custom mix-in ideas: Add 1/2 teaspoon or more of favorite spice when adding the vanilla. Or instead of vanilla, try almond extract, or 1 tablespoon of orange or peach liqueur, or a splash of bourbon.