Pêche Melba

Escoffier's poached peach on vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberry coulis

Origin: England

From the journey of Peach.

Pêche Melba was created by Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel in London in 1892, in honour of Dame Nellie Melba: the Australian soprano Helen Mitchell, who had taken her stage name from Melbourne and was the most celebrated opera singer of the age. The dish was first served from a silver swan (carved from ice) as a reference to Melba's performance in Wagner's Lohengrin; Escoffier later refined and simplified it at the Ritz Paris, adding the raspberry coulis and making it the dish the world knows. Its genius is the precision of its balance: the vanilla ice cream provides cold, creamy sweetness; the poached peach adds warmth, fragrance, and a gentle acid note; the fresh raspberry coulis introduces tartness and a vivid contrast that prevents the combination from tipping into cloying sweetness. The three components form one of the most naturally harmonious flavour combinations in classical French pâtisserie; and Escoffier had the confidence to leave it at that. No pastry shell, no caramel, no gimmick. Pêche Melba has survived 130 years of fashion untouched, which is the best argument for its correctness.

Ingredients

Poached Peaches

  • 4 ripe but firm peaches

Poaching Syrup

  • 500 ml water
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 1 vanilla pod, split
  • 1 strip lemon zest

Raspberry Coulis

  • 300 g fresh raspberries
  • 60 g icing sugar, sifted
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Service

  • 8 scoops best-quality vanilla ice cream
  • flaked almonds, toasted, to finish (optional, Escoffier's later versions)

Method

  1. Make the poaching syrup: combine water, caster sugar, vanilla pod, and lemon zest in a wide saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then reduce to a gentle simmer.
  2. Blanch the peaches for 30 seconds in boiling water, then transfer to ice water. Peel; the skins should slip away easily. Halve and remove the stones.
  3. Poach the peach halves in the vanilla syrup over very low heat for 8–12 minutes, turning once, until just tender throughout. They should offer no resistance to a thin skewer but still hold their shape completely.
  4. Remove the poached peaches and transfer to a shallow dish. Spoon a little of the syrup over them to keep them moist. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until needed.
  5. Make the raspberry coulis: blitz the raspberries with the icing sugar and lemon juice in a blender until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Taste and adjust sweetness. Refrigerate until very cold.
  6. To assemble: place two scoops of vanilla ice cream in each chilled serving dish or coupe glass. Set two poached peach halves over the ice cream. Pour the cold raspberry coulis generously over the top. Scatter with toasted flaked almonds if using. Serve immediately.

Notes

The original Escoffier recipe does not include the almonds; that is a later addition. The purist version is: poached peach, vanilla ice cream, raspberry coulis. Nothing else. Use the finest vanilla ice cream you can find; it is half the dish.

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