Peach Melba

Peach Melba was invented by Auguste Escoffier at London’s Savoy Hotel in 1893 to honor opera singer Nellie Melba, and the original recipe remains the gold standard: vanilla ice cream, a peach half, raspberry sauce, and not much else. The genius is in the contrast between cold cream and tart fruit, played out in textures that range from molten sauce to airy whipped cream.

The sauce is the make-or-break element here. Raspberries get cooked with sugar, cornstarch, and currant jelly until the cornstarch hydrates and clears, then pushed through a sieve to remove the seeds.

That sieving step is what separates a glossy restaurant sauce from a gritty homemade one. Chilling thoroughly before assembly keeps it from melting the ice cream too fast on the plate.

Macaroon crumbs add the crunch the dish would otherwise lack, and a fluted collar of whipped cream around the rim of a sherbet glass is the classic Edwardian presentation.

Chef Tips

• Sieve the raspberry sauce twice if you want true Escoffier-level smoothness. The seeds matter more than you’d think.
• Use a sherbet glass or shallow coupe, not a deep bowl. The sauce needs to flow visibly over the peach.
• Chill the serving glasses in the freezer for an hour first. Warm glass turns ice cream to soup before the first bite.
• Fresh ripe peaches poached briefly in vanilla syrup beat canned ones if they’re in season. Use freestone varieties for clean halves.

Variations

• Swap macaroon crumbs for crushed amaretti or almond biscotti for a nuttier crunch.
• Add a splash of framboise or kirsch to the chilled raspberry sauce for an adult version.
• Use pistachio ice cream instead of vanilla for a more dramatic color contrast against the red sauce.