The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Home-made Ice Cream with Local Dairy

August 20th, 2014 · 1 Comment · Posted in Recipes

image

Among the items in the “free” bin at our food co-op recently were quarts of cream and half-and-half from the local dairy. What a bonanza! Apparently the sell-by date had come and gone, so I wanted to quick turn them into something that would last a bit longer.

That’s how I came to make my first-ever batch of ice cream. My wife linked me to a sweet Chez Panisse recipe that just happens to call for cream and half-and-half as the main ingredients.

I was a bit nervous at first, but this turned out to be not nearly as difficult as I imagined. With two cups cream to one cup half-and-half, you add 1 cup sugar and a bit more than 1/3 cup coffee beans and steep the beans for about 45 minutes without letting the mix come even to a simmer. I pulled it off the stove when the mix reached 170 degrees.

Beat 6 egg yolks lightly, temper with some of the hot cream mix, then add to the pot and cook gently over the lowest possible heat until the mix thickens to the point it will coat the back of a spoon.

Strain through a fine sieve and chill almost to freezing, then pour into your ice cream maker and proceed according to manufacturer’s instructions. We have one of those budget Cuisinart models that uses an insulated bowl that lives in our chest freezer. The machine rotates the bowl around a set of plastic blades until ice cream miraculously forms.

I liked it so much, I made it a second time. Ice cream never tasted so good.

Leave a Comment

Please note: Your comment may have to wait for approval to be published to ensure that we don't accidentally publish "spam". We thank you for understanding.

*

  • Sylvie in Rappahannock

    What a bonanza: free cream!!!! My standard recipe for Philadelphia-style ice-cream is 2 cups of fruit puree, 2 cups cream, 3/4 C sugar (+/- to taste) OR 2/3 C honey. No custard to make and very fresh tasting… You won’t go back to store-bought….