cherry peach sauce

June 28, 2012 | 1 comment

peachy

I’m going to take a quick jump here to some dual fruited second stage sauces before plunging through our green vegetable introduction. I’ve got this cherry peach sauce and a jammy strawberry rhubarb sauce (coming next) that I’ve been dying to tell you about, and I just hope that your local farmer’s market or grocer still has or will be getting the last round of this seasons cherries and rhubarb.

what's underneath

rough chunks

In my long list of food combinations I wanted to feed my kid (the very first thing I made after seeing the second line show up on the knocked up stick, ya know, priorities), strawberry rhubarb was always at the top. Luckily for us, he began food right as it was coming in season and I made some, froze it and saved it until we were ready to start introducing the second stage of goo. Cherries, didn’t make the cut. They’re expensive, a lot of work for such little reward, and honestly there are so many better fruits out there. Well, needless to say, me and what my husband refers to as my “besetting sin” (am I the only one who gets suddenly greedy after seeing bright, fresh, wonderful smelling produce at the farmer’s market and get, errr, carried away and bring home far more than any two normal people could possibly eat?) got the better of me and I slew home a bundle of cherries and didn’t use nearly as many as I thought I would need.

tight squeeze

pitted and halved

peaches and cherries

I threw what cherries I had left over in with some peaches that needed to be used up and then we had a fighting match. I thought it would taste great over a slice of angel food cake coulis style, or even slathered on my morning toast — it’s like pure jam, you see. I let baby win. I just couldn’t bring myself to steal probably the only time he will have cherries until he is of pie snacking age.

cherry peach sauce

For fruit sauces I’m having a hard time figuring out the exact fruit to water amount. Especially since I’ve brought home peaches that are juice balls. I find I need a little bit of water to coax everything to cook down (without sticking to my pots) yet once everything is mashable I have so much liquid it becomes fruit juice. So far I’ve used a minimal amount of water, cooked everything, drained the fruit in a fine mesh sieve placed over a large bowl and pureed everything together with just a little bit of the reserved juice. Its created far more dishes than I would care to clean, but I do at least get perfectly velvety sauces that are inhaled without complaint.

Cherry Peach Sauce

Makes about 1 1/2 cups, roughly 12 1-ounce cubes

I find the darker the cherry the sweeter it is, however, I bought mine bright red (tart) and didn’t fully let them ripen to their deep purple hue because I was running out of room in my refrigerator, a problem I almost never have, and decided to use them as they were. They gave the sauce an ever so slight tartness, but baby doesn’t seem to mind at all.

1 1/2 pounds peeled, pitted peaches cut into large chunks
1/2 pound sweet cherries, pitted and cut in half
1/4 water

Place peaches, cherries and water in a saucepan placed over medium heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until peaches and cherries can be easily mashed with the back of a fork or spoon without resistance. Remove pan from heat and set fruit aside to cool in liquid. Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Drain fruit in sieve and save reserved juice. Puree your fruit with a little bit of the juice, adding more as necessary until you’ve reached your desired consistency — I didn’t measure but I got at least 1 – 1 1/2 cups of juice and added back in about 1/4 cup. Once smooth and creamy, freeze sauce small portions.

Conversions & Equivalents
 

Volume | Baking | Metric | Pan Size | Temperature | Oven | Other

 
1/2 teaspoon = 30 drops
1 teaspoon = 1/3 tablespoon OR 60 drops
3 teaspoon = 1 tablespoon or 1/2 fluid ounce
1/2 tablespoon = 1 1/2 teaspoons
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons or 1/2 fluid ounce
2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup or 1 fluid ounce
3 tablespoons = 1 1/2 fluid ounces
4 tablespoons = 1 1/4 cup or 2 fluid ounces
5 1/3 tablespoons = 1/3 cup or 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup or 4 fluid ounces
10 2/3 tablespoons = 2/3 cup or 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
12 tablespoons = 3/4 cup or 6 fluid ounces
16 tablespoons = 1 cup or 8 fluid ounces or 1/2 pint
1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons or 1 fluid ounce
1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons or 2 fluid ounces
1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
3/8 cup = 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons or 4 fluid ounces
2/3 cup = 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
5/8 cup = 1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons
3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons or 6 fluid ounces
7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
1 cup = 16 tablespoons or 1/2 pint or 8 fluid ounces
2 cups = 1 pint or 16 fluid ounces
1 pint = 2 cups or 16 fluid ounces
1 quart = 2 pints or 4 cups or 32 fluid ounces
1 gallon = 4 quarts or 8 pints or 16 cups or 128 fluid ounces
 
FLOUR
1 cup all-purpose flour = 5 ounces or 142 grams
1 cup cake flour = 4 ounces or 113 grams
1 cup whole wheat flour = 5 1/2 ounces or 156 grams
     
SUGAR
1 cup granulated white sugar = 7 ounces or 198 grams
1 cup packed brown sugar = 7 ounces or 198 grams
1 cup confectioners sugar = 4 ounces or 113 grams
     
COCOA POWDER
1 cup cocoa powder = 3 ounces or 85 grams
     
BUTTER
4 tablespoons = 1/2 stick or 1/4 cup or 2 ounces
8 tablespoons = 1 stick or 1/2 cup or 4 ounces
16 tablespoons = 2 sticks or 1 cup or 8 ounces
32 tablespoons = 4 sticks or 2 cups or 1 pound
 
1/4 teaspoon = 1.23 milliliters
1/2 teaspoon = 2.46 milliliters
3/4 teaspoon = 3.7 milliliters
1 teaspoon = 4.93 milliliters
1 1/4 teaspoon = 6.16 milliliters
1 1/2 teaspoon = 7.39 milliliters
1 3/4 teaspoon = 8.63 milliliters
2 teaspoon = 9.86 milliliters
1 tablespoon = 14.79 milliliters
2 tablespoons = 29.57 milliliters
1/4 cup = 59.15 milliliters
1/2 cup = 118.3 milliliters
1 cup = 236.59 milliliters
2 cups or 1 pint = 473.18 milliliters
3 cups = 709.77 milliliters
4 cups or 1 quart = 946.36 milliliters
1/4 teaspoon = 1.23 milliliters
4 quarts or 1 gallon = 3.785 liters
 
PAN SIZE VOLUME CAN SUBSTITUTE WITH
1 8-inch round cake pan 4 cups

1 8x4-inch loaf pan

1 9-inch round cake pan

1 9-inch pie plate

2 8-inch round cake pans 8 cups

2 8x4-inch loaf pans

1 9-inch tube pan

2 9-inch round cake pans

1 10-inch bundt pan

1 11x7-inch baking dish

1 10-inch springform pan

1 9-inch round cake pan 6 cups

1 8-inch round cake pan

1 8x4-inch loaf pan

1 11x7-inch baking dish

2 9-inch round cake pans 12 cups

2 8x4-inch loaf pans

1 9-inch tube pan

2 8-inch round cake pans

1 10-inch bundt pan

2 11x7-inch baking dish

1 10-inch springform pan

1 10-inch round cake pan 11 cups

2 8-inch round cake pan

1 9-inch tube pan

1 10-inch springform pan

2 10-inch round cake pans 22 cups

5 8-inch round cake pans

3 or 4 9-inch round cake pans

2 10-inch spring form pan

9-inch tube pan 12 cups

2 8-inch round cake pans

2 9-inch round cake pans

1 10-inch bundt pan

10-inch tube pans 16 cups

3 9-inch round cake pans

2 10-inch pie plates

4 8-inch pie plates

2 9x5-inch loaf pans

2 8-inch square baking dishes

2 9-inch square baking dishes

10-inch bundt pan 12 cups

1 9x13-inch baking dish

2 9-inch round cake pans

1 9-inch tube pan

2 11x7-inch baking dishes

1 10-inch springform pan

11x7x2-inch baking dish 6 cups

1 8-inch square baking dish

1 9-inch square baking dish

1 9-inch round cake pan

9x13x2-inch baking dish 15 cups

1 10-inch bundt pan

2 9-inch round cake pans

3 8-inch round cake pans

1 10x15-inch jellyroll pan

10x15x1-inch jellyroll pan 15 cups

1 10-inch bundt pan

2 9-inch round cake pans

2 8-inch round cake pan

1 9x13-inch baking dish

9x5-inch loaf pan 8 cups

1 10-inch pie plate pan

1 8-inch square baking dish

1 9-inch square baking dish

8x4-inch loaf pan 6 cups

1 8-inch round cake pan

1 11x7-inch baking dish

9-inch springform pan 10 cups

1 10-inch round cake pan

1 10-inch spring form pan

2 8-inch round cake pans

2 9-inch round cake pans

10-inch springform pan 12 cups

2 8x4-inch loaf pan

1 9-inch tube pan

2 9-inch round cake pans

1 10-inch bundt pan

2 11x7-inch baking dishes

2 8-inch round cake pans

8-inch square baking dish 8 cups

1 9x5-inch loaf pan

2 8-inch pie plates

9-inch square baking dish 8 cups

1 11x7-inch baking dish

1 9x5-inch loaf pan

2 8-inch pie plate

 
Water Freezes 32°F 0°C
  40°F 4.4°C
  50°F 10°C
  60°F 15.6°C
  70°F 21.1°C
  80°F 26.7°C
  90°F 32.2°C
  100°F 37.8°C
  110°F 43.3°C
  120°F 48.9°C
  130°F 54.4°C
  140°F 60°C
  150°F 65.6°C
  160°F 71.1°C
  170°F 76.7°C
  180°F 82.2°C
  190°F 87.8°C
  200°F 93.3°C
Water Boils 212°F 100°C
  250°F 121°C
  300°F 149°C
  350°F 177°C
  400°F 205°C
  450°F 233°C
  500°F 260°C
 
275°F = 140°C or Gas Mark 1
300°F = 150°C or Gas Mark 2
325°F = 165°C or Gas Mark 3
350°F = 180°C or Gas Mark 4
375°F = 190°C or Gas Mark 5
400°F = 200°C or Gas Mark 6
425°F = 220°C or Gas Mark 7
450°F = 230°C or Gas Mark 9
475°F = 240°C or Gas Mark 10
   

And for conversions that are not listed I found a great conversion calculator here!

 
Print | Share | Link | 1 comment
Comment Guidelines
 

Most of the comments and emails I receive are positive, conversational, and very welcome as part of the dialogue that I love about the food blogging community. Unfortunately, there is still a minority of comments that are offensive, irrelevant, and sometimes simply rude. Of course, the misfortune about creating comment guidelines is that the people leaving the former kind of comments are already following the guidelines, and the people leaving the latter kind of comments probably won't bother to read the guidelines or will simply ignore them. Still, please follow the guidelines. It will make the online world a better place for all of us.

The Good Kind of Comments:

  • Conversational. If you're starting or continuing a conversation about your life, your experiences in the kitchen, or stories about your family, then I love and welcome your comments. The ability to genuinely connect with other people with similar interests whom I may never otherwise meet is one of the things I most love about the food blogging community, and I encourage people to participate as much as they'd like in these sometimes spontaneous conversations.
  • Feedback. If you tried a recipe that you found on The Red Spoon, I would love to hear about it. Whether it was a success or a flop, whether you added ingredients or adjusted cooking times, whatever you did, I am always interested in hearing how things went in another kitchen with the same recipe.
  • Questions. If something in a recipe is confusing or obviously wrong, please feel free to ask a question. Or, if you're just really curious about where we bought the cutest outfit on the latest Henry cameo, don't be shy at all about asking.

The Bad Kind of Comments:

  • Irrelevant. I'm pretty open minded about the kinds of conversations that might happen in the comments section, but the ones I'm referring to here are things like permission requests, recipe requests, advertising requests, etc. that would be more appropriate in an email. A good rule of thumb is that if the comment will alienate everyone else reading the post, try putting in an email directly to me instead.
  • Linking. As part of the comment in-take form, there is a field where you can enter your website or blog and it will appear as a hyperlink embedded in your name in the text of the comment. This kind of linking is perfectly acceptable. When linking is not acceptable is if the corresponding comment is completely irrelevant, i.e. an excuse to market your website on my website, in which case your comment will be deleted for irrelevance, or if you leave a link in the body of the comment. The rule of thumb is don't try to market your website on my website. I know all the tricks and I will delete your comment if I think this is what you're doing.
  • Nastygrams. Every once in a while I find one of these in my inbox or in a comment on a post. People sending me nastygrams: don't do it. You're wasting your time. I really don't care if you think my blog "looks like" another blog, of if you think talking about my kid and putting pictures of him in posts is "copying" another blog. Seriously. The blog you're rushing to defend probably didn't come up with that one either, and even if they did there is nothing illegal, unethical, or unfair about doing the same thing. If you're genuinely concerned that plagiarism has taken place on The Red Spoon, just send me a polite email asking if I forgot to credit someone somewhere. But when you leave an anonymous comment saying that my website is ugly, you have become that annoying kid on the playground that wants to correct everyone but that no one else likes, except you're not a kid so what's your excuse? Your comment will be deleted, your email won't be responded to, and thank you for the page views and corresponding advertising revenue.
  • Parenting Advice. Josh and I love being parents, and we definitely need all the help we can get, but from the people that are actually involved in our daily lives and know what help we need. Please don't leave parenting advice in the comments sections. Such comments will be deleted.

 

  1. Connie Tindell  June 28, 2012

    He’s a very blessed baby!

    Connie

 

Comment