Thinking Outside the Jar: Tangy Plum Vanilla Ice Cream

Tangy Plum Vanilla Ice Cream

This ice cream was inspired from two sources. Firstly, mom friends were discussing their plans during the major winter storm that just passed (Juno, they call it. Not sure why we ended up naming winter storms?!) A friend was making homemade blizzards to celebrate the storm and I remembered our long forgotten ice cream machine that four small kid stuck inside might just find interesting and entertaining. The other inspiration and the base of this recipe came from The Preserved Life ‘s post about a roast chicken cooked in whey.

No Whey!

Whey is this incredible liquid that remains when you’ve strained fresh cheese (think paneer or ricotta) or yogurt. Since we make our own yogurt and strain it for Greek yogurt, I tend to have lots of whey on the go. In the past, I threw it out, not sure how to put it to good use, but lately, I’ve been adding it to shakes and pancake batter and there’s good reason to use it – it’s full of protein and has a great tang.

I make ice creams a couple different ways: a decadent egg/cream custard that makes a divine ice cream and is best for a special occasion or an ice cream that’s less indulgent, super delicious and a bit easier on the waistline. Since I’m still atoning for holiday overindulgence, this recipe is clearly the later.

 

Tangy Plum Ice Cream

Lightly Adapted from Cornstarch Ice Cream from the New York Times

Active Time: 20 minutes

Inactive Time: 90 minutes

Servings: 4

 

1 cups whey

1 cup 3% milk

.5 cup 10% cram

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons corn starch

Splash of vanilla (optional)

 

1. Combine whey and 3% milk, sugar, pinch of salt and combine in small pot. Bring to a light simmer over medium heat, about 5 minutes. While waiting for milk mixture to heat up, combine corn starch and cream in a small bowl and mix well. When milk mixture comes to a simmer, add in corn starch slurry. Stir frequently over medium heat for about 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Turn down heat to minimum and continue to stir until thick, about 3 more minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Once off the heat, add in 1/2 cup of your favourite jam. I happened to use Yellow Plum with Rosemary and Vanilla Bean, with about 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract, but let taste be your guide according to the type of jam and complimentary seasoning used.

3. Let custard cool to room temperature or in the fridge for 90 minutes (or, make use of Mother Nature’s blast chiller and keep it outside with a lid on for about an hour). Add cooled custard to ice cream machine and follow your machine’s instructions. Be sure to have a very chilled machine that’s been frozen 8+ hours. It took my machine about 10 minutes to make perfectly soft and spoonable ice cream.

Enjoy!

 

Irresistible Ice Cream

 

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