Noyau* Cream..



*Noyau translates to 'Fruit Stone'

Did you know that Cyanide is found in the pits of most stone fruits?? Almond extract is also made from Apricot Pits, which are actually a relative of the Almond. As for the Cyanide, not to be alarmed.. Heat kills its toxic properties, and leaves a nice almondy flavor behind…

So, with the abundance of Cherries around this summer, I decided to use the whole fruit. After pitting the cherries, I rinsed the pits free of most of the slimy cherry pulp. I then put them into a Ziploc bag and sealed it.

Now, for the fun part.

Getting my aggressions out.

With a hefty meat cleaver, I pounded the c**p out of the pits, until they broke open and the inner stones were revealed. Of course, I blew open a few Ziploc bags and pits went flying far and wide, but in the end, I was left with many busted cherries and the lovely scent of bitter almond.

To extract as much of this flavor as I could, I added 1 cup of the crushed ‘Noyau’ (fruit stone) to a Quart of Cream, and I brought the cream to a boil. I then let it steep overnight, chilled, of course. (steep less for a less bitter flavor)

The next day, I add this cream either to a prepared Ice Cream Base, which consists of Milk, Yolks and Sugar, or substitute it for the cream in a Crème Brulee, or in a Panna Cotta. I have yet to try the Brulees, but so far, in my experiments, it has made a great gelato as well as a good Panna Cotta, served with a chilled Peach and Muscat Soup.