Directions

1. For custard: In a medium heavy saucepan, combine sugar, whipping cream and 1 cup of the half-and-half. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber scraper, until mixture just starts to boil. Remove from heat. Whisk about 1 cup of the hot mixture into beaten egg yolks; return all to saucepan. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture coats the back of a clean metal spoon. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.
2. Strain the custard into a large bowl through a fine-mesh sieve (to catch any bits of egg that might have overcooked in the custard). Stir in the remaining half-and-half, vanilla, salt and, if you like, nutmeg. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours. (Mixture will be thicker after chilling.)
3. In a food processor, place half of the peaches. Cover and process until smooth and pureed. Transfer peach puree to the large bowl with chilled custard; stir in remaining chopped peaches.
4. Stir chilled peach nectar and, if you like, peach brandy into the custard-peach mixture. Transfer the mixture to a 4- or 5-quart ice cream freezer. Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. If you like, ripen* for 4 hours before serving.