It doesn’t get any more Chapel Hill than chatting with Bill Smith at Crook’s Corner. Over a PBR, the bespectacled chef dove into the rich history of the pickled peach ice cream that’s been served in his family since the 1880s. Bill’s great-grandmother’s grandmother was an outspoken abolitionist who took in and adopted Tom Angel, the orphaned son of a former slave. Uncle Tom made his living making hand- cranked ice cream on Cape Hatteras and decades later, Bill included the pickled peach recipe in his first cookbook, Seasoned in the South. Tom’s version called for vinegar, but Bill put a local twist on it by using pickled peaches with Thai chiles from Farmer’s Daughter. After a few bites of the incredibly creamy dessert, Bill warns, “You might get a little heat – a pleasant heat I think.” He’s spot on about the Thai chiles’ effect but I say how sweet it is. $5.95
Crook’s Corner, 610 W. Franklin St.; 919-929-7643; crookscorner.com
