The Peach Melba (French: pêche Melba, pronounced [p?? m?l.ba]) is a dessert of peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream. The dish was invented in 1892 or 1893 by the French chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London, to honor the Australian soprano Nellie Melba.
Video Peach Melba
Creation of the dish
In 1892, operatic soprano Nellie Melba was performing in Wagner's opera Lohengrin at Covent Garden. The Duke of Orléans gave a dinner party to celebrate her triumph. For the occasion, Escoffier created a new dessert, and to display it, he used an ice sculpture of a swan, which is featured in the opera. The swan carried peaches which rested on a bed of vanilla ice cream and which were topped with spun sugar. In 1900 Escoffier created a new version of the dessert. For the occasion of the opening of the Carlton Hotel, where he was head chef, Escoffier omitted the ice swan and topped the peaches with raspberry purée.
Maps Peach Melba
Variations
Other versions substitute pears, apricots, or strawberries instead of peaches and/or use raspberry sauce or melted redcurrant jelly instead of raspberry purée. The original dish used simple ingredients of "tender and very ripe peaches, vanilla ice cream, and a purée of sugared raspberry". Escoffier himself is quoted as saying: "Any variation on this recipe ruins the delicate balance of its taste."
Cultural significance
In tribute to Escoffier an elaborate deconstruction of the Peach Melba was served as the last dish at elBulli prior to its closure in 2012.
See also
- List of foods named after people
- Melba toast
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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