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"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." - James Beard


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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Strawberry Ice Cream



Fresh local strawberries are in season and I've been waiting a year to make strawberry ice cream.  I'm positive that I recently read an article or post somewhere about the best strawberry ice cream.  I searched high and low for guidance but didn't find any.  And the strawberry ice cream recipes I did find were so completely different from each other, I really didn't know where to begin. 

Many recipes called for eggs, but some called for two egg yolks and some for ten!  Some recipes didn't use eggs at all.  Some called for whipping cream and half & half, some called for cream and whole milk.  


In the end, I got lazy and decided on a no-cook method based on this recipe, with a few changes.  The texture isn't quite perfect but it is bursting with strawberry flavour and super delicious!

Here's what you need:



1 pint/1 lb fresh, local strawberries (I don't think there's any point making this with imported berries)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/2 cup buttermilk (or whole milk)
1 tablespoon vodka (optional)

Equipment:
Blender or food processor
Ice cream maker


First, hull and rinse your berries.  Sprinkle with sugar, salt and lemon juice.


Let the berries macerate for about 10 minutes, mashing occasionally with a potato masher or fork. 


Here they are after about 10 minutes.


Now, put half the strawberries in a blender or food processor.  Add the cream and buttermilk and purée until smooth.  


Add the purée back into the remaining crushed strawberries.  This gives the ice cream a gorgeous pink colour and a little texture from the strawberry chunks.   Mix it together and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.  Make sure your ice cream maker bowl is frozen as well.  

When you're ready to go, add the strawberry mixture to the ice cream maker, turn it on and freeze according to directions.  Mine took 25 minutes.  I added a tablespoon of vodka right at the end to try to avoid ice crystals.  Totally optional.  


Then remove the soft ice cream to a container and freeze a few hours until solid.  



This ice cream is delicious but I'm not in love with the texture.  It seems a little dry and breaks apart rather than scooping into solid, creamy scoops.  I've done a little research but I'm not sure of the cause.  It could be the lack of eggs, or I could have filled the ice cream maker too full.  Anyway, I'll keep trying until I perfect it, but this is good enough for now!  


Yum!

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