Vanilla Ice Cream
This vanilla ice cream is both delicious and easy to make. There’s nothing crazy about this recipe; it’s just good!
Vanilla??
If you haven’t noticed from my other blog posts, I love fun food facts. So, what exactly is vanilla? Vanilla is an exotic tropical orchid that requires specific conditions to grow. Thriving in hot and humid tropical regions around the equator, vanilla orchids have a pollination mechanism that involves a symbiotic relationship with a particular bee. However, in commercial cultivation, growers often resort to artificial pollination. They manually transfer pollen from the anther to the stigma of each flower using a small instrument or a toothpick. Just think about it; nearly every vanilla bean you’ve ever seen or eaten, every product with real vanilla, has come from beans that were pollinated BY HAND. Every single bean requires the loving touch of a human. That’s insane!
Vanilla is typically harvested around 6-9 months after pollination. The pods are hand-harvested, as each pod ripens at a different rate. Once harvested, the pods undergo a curing process to develop their characteristic aroma and flavor. This process involves blanching, fermentation, drying, and conditioning, which can take several weeks to complete. Vanilla cultivation demands expertise, patience, and attention to detail. The labor-intensive and time-consuming nature of the process should make us appreciate vanilla prices more, considering all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into every single bean.
Versatile
Vanilla has a reputation for being boring, but it’s anything but! My favorite thing about this recipe is not only its deliciousness but also its versatility. It serves as an excellent base for various other types of ice cream. Mix in some fruit puree (about 20%), and you’ll have fruit ice cream. Infuse this base with some tea or coffee beans, and voilà! You’ve got tea or coffee ice cream. Add a caramel ripple, chocolate chips, oreo chunks, nuts, or anything else you’d like. This recipe is highly adaptable to suit your taste.
Vanilla is an extraordinary flavor that goes beyond its simple reputation. The extensive effort and care required for its cultivation make it truly remarkable. So, when making this vanilla ice cream, remember the incredible journey every bean has taken from pollination to your spoon!
Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 350 g cream
- 30 g milk powder
- 120 g egg yolks approximately 6 to 7 yolks, depending on size
- 58 g sugar
- 25 g dextrose
- 1 vanilla bean
- Pinch of salt
- 225 g milk
Instructions
- In a pot, combine the cream and the milk powder. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and the whole pod into the pot with the cream. Whisk everything together and set it aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks,sugar, dextrose, and a pinch of salt. Set it aside.
- Heat the cream in the pot until it begins to steam, but avoid bringing it to a boil.
- Temper the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture by slowly pouring a little bit of cream at a time while continuously whisking. Make sure there are no streaks of yolk left in the mixture. Then pour the combined mixture back into the pot and turn the heat back on. Keep a bowl with a fine mesh strainer nearby.
- While continuously whisking, heat the ice cream base up to 82°C (180°F). As soon as it reaches this temperature, pour it through the strainer to remove any potential lumps.
- Whisk the ice cream base briefly in the bowl to release some heat. Transfer the mixture into a container and refrigerate it overnight to let it rest.
- The next morning, pour the milk into the ice cream base and mix everything together. For smoother results, you can use an immersion blender, but a whisk works just as well.
- Churn the ice cream base in your ice cream machine according to the machine’s instructions.
- The ice cream is ready to eat fresh out of the machine, but for a firmer texture, you can place it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Eat and enjoy!