"For the first time, I added Peach Melba to the menu of the Carlton Hotel in 1899, but he had been serving it to the singer for several years before that.
Then she sang Elsa in Lohengrin. At one of the performances, she offered him a place among the orchestra. When Madame Melba showed up at the restaurant the next day, he decided to thank her and cook something very special for her. As a reminder of the fabulous swan from the first act, he made a dessert of peach and vanilla ice cream, covered with a layer of powdered sugar, served in a silver cup and decorated with a swan's tail carved from ice.

The effect was stunning, and Madame Melba was delighted with his creation. When she met him one day at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, she immediately started talking to him about this memorable evening. Success came to his invention quickly and for a long time. It's a pity that the original recipe is changed so often.

Peach Melba is a very simple dessert made from ripe peaches, vanilla ice cream and raspberry puree. Any change in the recipe destroys the delicate balance of its taste. Sometimes raspberry puree is replaced with strawberry marmalade or red currant jelly. It completely changes the taste. Or the peach is served with whipped cream. The results of such experiments have nothing to do with the original recipe and are unlikely to bring joy to a true connoisseur."

4 peaches
500 ml vanilla ice cream
250 g granulated sugar
200 g raspberries
juice of half a lemon
and 1 vanilla pod

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Preparation of peaches:

Put 4 vases in the freezer.

Peel the peaches, cut them in half and remove the pits.

Pour 1 liter of water into a saucepan and put it on medium heat. Add 200 grams of granulated sugar, a vanilla pod split in two, and when the water boils— add the peach halves.

You should cook the peaches for 10 minutes, but if they are very ripe and juicy, then the time should be reduced to 8 minutes.

Let the peaches cool directly in the pan, and then drain the water.

Set aside a few whole raspberries for decoration. Put the remaining raspberries in a blender along with sugar (50 g) and lemon juice and bring it to a semi-liquid puree (coolie), which is placed in the refrigerator.

Remove the vases from the freezer. Pour a little raspberry coolie into each of them, put 2 peach halves, a large ball of vanilla ice cream and pour raspberry coolie again. Garnish with raspberries.