Vanilla Ice Cream

Fresh home-grown mint leaf!

There's nothing quite like vanilla ice cream...

Start by whisking 5 oz sugar into 5 egg yolks in a bowl until everything is nicely blended and the color lightens a little. Set up another, metal bowl on ice (or even better, in an ice bath - ice cubes in water) with a fairly fine strainer set in it. Have a wooden spoon on hand.

Now bring 2 cups half and half to a boil in a pan. Watch it carefully, because if it boils over you will lose liquid. As soon as it boils, pour a little (maybe 1/2 cup) half and half onto your sugar-yolk mixture and whisk vigorously to mix. Do not switch off the heat. Now pour the whole mixture back into the remaining half and half and continue to heat on the stove, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon. Check the back of the spoon as frequently as you can. Draw a line in the liquid on the back of the spoon with your finger. When the line stays and no liquid runs back into it, you are ready (and this will take only a matter of a minute or two). Remove the pan from the stove immediately and pour the contents through the strainer into the cold metal bowl. Stir constantly until the liquid cools down. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, chill in the fridge and churn in an ice cream machine, at which point you can serve it or freeze it. This has been a favorite in our house since I made it...

Variations

Using the basic recipe as a starting point, omitting the vanilla extract and adding other flavors, you can make other ice creams.

Mint ice cream - Add a big bunch of mint leaves to the cold half and half. Heat almost to a boil, then remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes (preferably even longer) before straining out the mint and continuing with the recipe.

Cinnamon ice cream - Add a cinnamon stick to the cold half and half. Proceed as for the mint, above. If you like it to be a little stronger in flavor, add some ground cinnamon after cooking. Whisk briefly and strain before churning.

Vanilla bean ice cream - Add 1 split vanilla bean to your cold half and half (cut in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds out with a knife, and add seeds and bean). Bring almost to a boil, remove from heat, leave for 30 minutes, covered, then remove the bean halves (but leave the seeds in), then return to a boil and continue with the recipe. Make sure that you do not use a fine strainer at the end, as you want the seeds to stay in the mix.


Note 1 - This is one recipe where everything has to be on hand before you start. As soon as the half and half boils, you have to work quickly. The mixture must not overcook or the eggs will scramble. A tiny bit of scrambling is OK - the strainer will get rid of it - but if the whole mixture scrambles, then all is lost.

Note 2 - The heat on the stove should be at least medium, or the whole process will take a while.

Note 3 - (For readers outside N. America) Half and half = half milk, half cream.

Note 4 - Metric info: 7 oz = 200g; 2 cups = 470 ml.