Hungarian Heritage Review, 1986 (15. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1986-09-01 / 9. szám
16 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW SEPTEMBER 1986 COLD PEACH SOUP (8 servings) 1 Vi pounds peeled, pitted, ripe but firm peaches, sliced (or 1 pound sliced peaches, if not in season) Vi cup sugar juice of Vi lemon 6 cups water 1 1-inch piece cinnamon stick 4 to 6 whole cloves Vi teaspoon nutmeg small pinch mace 1 cup granulated sugar 2 1-inch squares lemon rind Vi lemon, sliced wafer thin 1 drop red and 1 drop yellow liquid food coloring, optional 1 cup sour cream 1 cup buttermilk 1. Place half the peaches with the Vi cup sugar into a soup pot. Pour the lemon juice on the second half of the sliced peaches; refrigerate. Add the 6 cups of water to the pot, pouring it over the peaches. Add all spices, the 1 cup sugar, and lemon rind (not the lemon juice or wafer-thin slices of lemon) to the pot and bring to a boil. 2. Boil the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour. Press the cooked sliced peaches and the liquid through a sieve and discard the spices and lemon rind. Cool to room temperature. Add the second half of the peaches and the food colors and refrigerate the soup. Chill for 1 hour or longer. 3. Gently fold the sour cream into the buttermilk. To serve, put the sour creambuttermilk mixture into the soup tureen and, using a spatula, gently fold the soup, cup by cup, into it. Float lemon slices on top of the soup. Serve very cold as a first course. CHEF’S SECRET: Keeping the second half of the peaches in the refrigerator keeps them firm and the lemon juice prevents discoloration of the peaches. Letting the soup stand for 1 hour slowly dilutes the spice oils, which flavor the soup after the spices themselves have been discarded. Mixing the sour cream with the buttermilk makes the sour cream lighter and tastier, and it mixes more easily with the soup.
