I’ve always been a casual fan of ice cream and remember it
well from my childhood. We’d spend what seemed like hours churning a homemade
ice cream maker at my grandma’s house. You’d have to pack it with ice and then
salt down the ice to get it to absorb heat quicker. We’d take turns churning
since at eight or ten or whatever age we were, you really had to put some
effort into it and completely failed to understand that it doesn’t make ice
cream faster if you turn it faster. I blame the ice cream maker for my poor
Atari performances, but that’s another story for another day.
As an adult I’ve mostly just eaten frozen yogurt from a
certain manufacturer of Cherry Garcia or iced milk from the Queen of Dairy. I
didn’t eat ice cream very often and I suppose technically speaking, I still don’t.
However, when I moved to the desert I started exploring ways to cool off.
First, we bought a house with a pool, something I didn’t want and now can’t
image NOT having it available in the summer. Second, I bought an ice cream
maker. Ice cream is not exactly listed in the favorable parts of the food
pyramid, so I’m careful about how often I make it.
I’ve messed around with several recipes and for quite some
time I was convinced that my favorite was vanilla with chunks of cherries and
chocolate bars….you know, not at all ripping off that frozen yogurt and ice
cream maker mentioned above. Heck, I don’t sell it so it is not a copyright
thing, I totally ripped them off and it is good…..no great. I’ve experimented
with some other stuff and have made strawberry a few times. In the past, I wanted
the ice cream to ready as soon as possible and would cut some corners. The last
two times I’ve made it, I didn’t. It turns out, you CAN’T rush perfection.
In my opinion, the perfect ice cream is smooth, doesn’t melt
too quickly and has great flavor; in no particular order. I found out the hard
way that the only way to make strawberry ice cream smooth is to take your time.
If you just throw all the ingredients together and go, you get ice crystals in
your fruit chunks. The second secret: remember it is ice cream, not ice milk
and no matter what substitutions you make, it is fattening. The only way to
combat the calories in good ice cream is moderation and exercise. J I believe in making
REAL ice cream and just not eating it as often. A good treat is enjoyed more,
not more often.
I’ll include the recipe for my new favorite ice cream
(although I think it is technically frozen custard because it has egg yolks),
basic strawberry, that has nothing basic about it.
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
½ cup of ½ and ½ (recipe says “or milk”, but don’t do the
milk)
3 egg yolks
¼ cup of sugar for strawberries
½ cup of sugar for egg yolks
1.25 lbs of fresh strawberries, cut fairly small, large
chunks can get pretty crunchy
Small squeeze from a lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
Combine the strawberries, ¼ cup of sugar and lemon juice in
a bowl about an hour beforehand
In a double boiler or a make shift one (a glass bowl on top
of a sauce pan is what I do) heat the cream and half and half until steaming.
Even though you’re using a double boiler, it is worth stirring frequently.
In a separate bowl, while the cream is heating, whisk
together the egg yolk and sugar. Once the cream is warm, temper the cream into
the yolk mixture and then mix everything together once the yolk mixture is up
to temperature.
Continue to cook the custard on low for another 5 to 10
minutes. It should only slightly thicken, you don’t want thick custard.
Once you’re done cooking the custard, remove from heat and
add the strawberries in. You can either cool it with an ice bath or take your
chances with the refrigerator. I’ve done
both, haven’t seen a difference.
Once the mixture is no longer warm to the touch, so room
temp or cooler, you can load it into your ice cream maker and follow the
manufacturer’s directions from there.
This recipe makes 1 Quart of very rich ice cream, so don’t
take too big of a scoop and savor J
