The Chef's Table

Philadelphia Daily News (MCT) - Q. I would like to stock up on peaches for the winter. Please tell me how I go about freezing them, or is it better to go the preserving jar route? I would also like to know why the yolks always turn dark around the edges every time I hard boil eggs. They don't look right in a salad; what am I doing wrong? _ LC

A. Freezing peaches is a great way to save them for delicious uses throughout the year. Of course you can travel down the "jar preserving" route, but for someone who's not looking to do the hard work, that can end up being a dirt road with a lot of pot holes. Sometimes there's a reason a road is less traveled.

Let's just stay on the main highway. To get started, select well-ripened fruit that is not too firm, too mushy, or bruised. The fruit should look "just peachy." Once the perfect fruit has been chosen, wash your peaches in very cold water and dry in a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. At this point, you have to decide how you want them stored in your freezer. Freezing them whole is the best way to go in my opinion. Place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer so they will freeze individually. Once they are frozen like a rock, put them in plastic freezer bags until ready to use.

When you need peaches for a recipe, just take one or more out of the freezer and run them briefly under cold water to initiate thawing. The freezing process naturally separates the skin from the flesh, but you don't need to pick up a knife to peel anything at this point. Don't run them continuously under cold water or you will remove a lot of the flavor. If you want to speed up the thawing process, just stick them in the microwave for 10 or 12 seconds. Don't cook them, just thaw them out. Now they are ready to be pitted and sliced or cubed for recipes. Peaches should be completely thawed if you are planning to use them in baking recipes because as they thaw, they produce water.

If you decide to take a detour off the highway and cut your peaches up before freezing, they need to be frozen in a fruit juice (such as white cranberry juice, white grape juice, or apple juice) or a simple syrup. This will prevent the fruit from drying out and succumbing to freezer burn, and it will also help it retain its shape. To make simple syrup (they don't call it this for nothing), dissolve 2 cups of sugar or the equivalent amount of sugar substitute in 6 cups of water. Heat this on top of the stove until the sugar has dissolved and let cool completely before mixing with the peaches. If you want to use brown sugar, use 3 cups in 6 cups of water.

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Peel the peaches before pitting and slicing. To peel fresh peaches, cut a small X at the bottom of each one, then plunge in boiling water for approximately one minute, Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. This will loosen the skin and make the fruit easy to peel. While you are peeling and slicing your peaches, already have your simple syrup cooling in the refrigerator. Place the sliced peaches in a bowl of water. (For every quart of cold water, add 1˝ tablespoons fresh lemon juice or 1 tablespoon of an all-natural commercial anti-oxidant.) Once all your peaches are sliced, drain them and place into a plastic freezer bag. Completely cover them with your simple syrup or fruit juice and seal tightly while removing all air from the bag. As a rule of thumb, about 5 to 6 nice sized peaches will make one quart of frozen fruit _ or the equivalent of 4 cups. Peaches sliced and stored in liquid cannot be thawed in the microwave; you will need to thaw them in the refrigerator. After the peaches are thawed, make your recipe. Because the peaches were stored in a sweetened liquid, you may want to adjust the amount of sugar in your recipes. Your frozen peaches should keep until the next peach season.

So now, LC, lets change lanes. Let's get on the egg highway to hell, and make those salads look delicious. I would never say that someone is doing something wrong, but since you asked, I'm gonna tell you. Either you are cooking your eggs too long or you are not cooling your eggs down after you pull them from the stove. Maybe you are driving without a license and committing both moving violations. That dark ring is due to iron and sulfur which become apparent when eggs are overcooked and not cooled properly. Try these methods and I assure you that your eggs will appear absolutely fabulous for your salads or any other recipe you choose to use them.

Put the eggs in a deep saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a pinch of kosher salt and bring to a rapid boil. Turn off the heat and cover the eggs. Set your timer for 12 minutes. Drain the eggs, put them in a bowl and cover with ice water, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Remove from the ice bath and use as desired or store in the refrigerator. Now that you've got a road map for freezing peaches and hard boiling eggs, you're ready to roll. Have a nice trip, and don't forget to write.

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PEACH AND FIG CRUMBLE

Filling:

10 ounces fresh figs, stemmed and quartered

3 tablespoons port wine

4 peaches, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices

1 tablespoon flour

Ľ teaspoon cinnamon

1 bunch nutmeg

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon butter and extra butter for coating the baking dish

Topping:

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Ľ cup granulated sugar

˝ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, cut into ˝ inch pieces

Rub an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with butter until well coated. Place figs and port wine in a bowl. Cover and let marinate for 15-20 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place peaches in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, toss to coat. Heat honey and butter until melted; drizzle over peaches. Arrange marinated figs over peaches. For topping, combine flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over peaches and figs. Bake 40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Serve warm.

Makes six to eight servings.

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(Cooking conundrum? Write to The Chef's Table, c/o Philadelphia Daily News, 400 N. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA 19130. Or e-mail chefcoleman@aol.com)

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