Peach Melba Float

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Tall soda fountain glasses or Collins glasses (12-16 oz)
• •Fine-mesh strainer (optional, for seedless sauce)
• •Long parfait spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the Melba sauce

   Place raspberries in a small bowl with the honey and lemon juice. Crush gently with a fork until the berries release their juices and form a loose, ruby sauce. Some texture is good. You want to taste individual berries, not something from a jar. Pass through a fine strainer if you prefer no seeds, but I leave them.

   Taste your raspberries before adding honey. If they are deeply sweet from the sun, use less. Let the fruit lead.
2. 2

   Prepare the peaches

   Slice peaches into thin wedges, working over a bowl to catch every drop of juice. If the peaches are truly ripe, the skin will be tender enough to eat. If not, a quick dip in boiling water for thirty seconds loosens it. Reserve that captured juice. It belongs in your glass.

   A ripe peach yields to gentle pressure near the stem and perfumes the air before you cut it. If you cannot smell it, it is not ready.
3. 3

   Chill your glasses

   Place two tall glasses in the freezer for ten minutes. A frosted glass keeps everything cold and shows you care about the details. This is a celebration of summer. Treat it that way.

4. 4

   Layer the raspberry sauce

   Spoon a tablespoon of Melba sauce into the bottom of each chilled glass. Add a few peach slices, pressing them gently against the sides where they will be visible. Pour in any reserved peach juice.

5. 5

   Add ice cream and build

   Place two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream into each glass. The ice cream should fit snugly but leave room at the top. Tuck a few more peach slices around the scoops. Drizzle remaining Melba sauce over the ice cream in lazy ribbons.

6. 6

   Pour the sparkling water

   Slowly pour chilled sparkling water down the inside of the glass until it reaches near the rim. Pour gently. The bubbles will foam and rise around the ice cream, creating that glorious float texture. The Melba sauce will swirl up through the effervescence like summer clouds at sunset.

   Use a good mineral water with fine bubbles. The cheap stuff goes flat too quickly and tastes of nothing.
7. 7

   Garnish and serve immediately

   Top with a final peach slice and a small sprig of mint if you have it growing. Add a long spoon and a straw. Serve at once. A float waits for no one, and neither does a perfect peach.

Chef Tips

• •Buy peaches from someone who can tell you when they were picked. Farmers' market peaches at the height of July and August are incomparable. Supermarket peaches shipped from far away rarely achieve true ripeness.
• •Make your Melba sauce just before serving. Raspberries lose their aliveness quickly once crushed. That bright, fresh flavor fades within hours.
• •Quality vanilla bean ice cream means you can see the black specks of real vanilla throughout. Read the label. If it lists vanilla flavor instead of vanilla beans or vanilla extract, keep looking.
• •If peaches are not in season, do not make this recipe. Wait. Seasonal eating is anticipation, and the pleasure of a perfect August peach is worth the patience.

Advance Preparation

• •Glasses can be chilled in the freezer up to a day ahead, ready for spontaneous float making when the peaches arrive.
• •Melba sauce can be made up to two hours ahead and refrigerated, though it tastes brightest when fresh.
• •This float cannot wait. Assemble and serve immediately. The bubbles will not linger, and neither will the magic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 545g)