Typhoid Mary’s Peach Ice Cream

Fresh peach ice cream frozen in a mold garnished with sliced peaches and peach puree

---

City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1877

---

Mary Mallon, born in 1869, was a cook for wealthy families, but she’s better known for being the first person found to be an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. While most food was cooked to a temperature that kills the typhoid-causing bacteria, the families that employed Mary loved her peach ice cream.

While ice cream that has eggs in it is cooked, and there’s no way to know what kind Mary made, I opted for a recipe from the time for American style ice cream that has no eggs and isn’t cooked. Whichever ice cream base Mary used, she put cut up fresh peaches into it, which certainly could have carried the bacteria.

Gruesome inspiration for this recipe aside, the ice cream is really good. There’s a ton of fresh peach flavor, and you can make it as sweet or not as you like. The slices of peach inside the ice cream were very cold and kind of froze my mouth, so you could try cutting them up into smaller pieces to avoid the brain freeze I got.

“Peach Ice-Cream
Mix a quart of cream with a cupful of sugar and four tablespoons of sherry. Add four cupfuls of peaches mashed fine and sweetened to taste, and freeze.”

— Everyday Desserts by Olive Green (Myrtle Reed), 1911

---

Ingredients:

• 12 to 14* ripe peaches, I used yellow
• 1 cup (200 g) sugar, plus more for sweetening the peaches
• 1 quart (1 L) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) sherry, I used a cream sherry

*You’ll want to make 4 cups of puree, so the number of peaches will depend on the size. You want enough for the puree plus some to slice up and add into the ice cream, and some for decoration.

Instructions:

1. Set aside the peaches you want to use for decoration at the end, about 3. To quickly and easily peel the rest of the peaches, cut a shallow X in the bottom of each peach. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and also set up a large bowl with ice water. When the water in the pot boils, place the peaches in it for 15 to 20 seconds, then take them out and immediately place them in the bowl of ice water. After a few seconds, you should be able to peel the skins off with your fingers.
2. Slice the peeled peaches in half and remove the pit. If they’re nice and ripe, this might mangle the peaches a bit, but we’re making a puree, so that’s okay. Start with about 7 or 8 peaches, though this could vary depending on the size of the peaches you have. Any leftover peeled peaches we’ll be cutting up to add into the ice cream later.
3. Make the puree by mashing the peaches with a potato masher, or better yet you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender. You want it to be as smooth as possible.
4. Measure 4 cups (1 L) of the puree into another bowl. If you have any leftover, you can pass it through a strainer and reserve it to use as a sauce with the ice cream. Taste the puree and add sugar to taste, stirring it in. My puree was fairly sweet to start with, and I ended up adding 1 cup (200 g) of sugar to it, but your amount may vary.
5. In a large bowl, combine the cream and the sherry. Whisking constantly, slowly add the 1 cup (200 g) of sugar. Whisk gently until the sugar is at least mostly dissolved.
6. Whisk in the peach puree until it’s all evenly mixed.
7. Break out your ice cream maker and freeze the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
8. While it freezes, slice up a peach or two, using up the peeled ones first if you had any left over.
9. When the ice cream is ready, take a bowl or an ice cream mold if you have one, and line the bottom of it with some of the peach slices. Pour some of the ice cream mixture in, smooth the top, then add more peaches. The amount of peaches you add in is up to you; you can do as many layers of ice cream and peaches as you like. Cover the bowl or mold tightly and place in the freezer for several hours so it can firm up.
10. When the ice cream is firm, you can either let it sit out for a few minutes and then unmold it onto a plate, or wrap the mold in a hot towel for a few seconds to help it release.
11. Garnish the ice cream with more sliced peaches and the strained peach puree. To serve it forth, you can slice it like a cake, or scoop it.

---