Strawberry, along with vanilla and chocolate, are the three most popular
flavors of ice cream. Although there are excellent brands of
commercially made ice creams on the market, making your own strawberry ice
cream, with fresh strawberry sauce, gives this ice cream a fresh and
aromatic
strawberry flavor.
We
begin our ice cream with a custard base and the four main ingredients in a
custard are cream, sugar, eggs, and flavoring. It is important to get
the right mix of these ingredients so the ice cream will have that smooth
texture and rich flavor we so desire. The amount of cream used and its
butterfat content gives ice cream its rich and creamy taste. However,
too much fat can cause a heavy product and smalls lumps of "butter" can form
which produces that grainy texture which is often found in homemade ice
creams. Sugar gives the ice cream its smoothness but too much sugar
will prevent the ice cream from freezing. Eggs are necessary for
smoothness and also gives the ice cream its nice color. Making the custard the night before so it has time to chill sufficiently
allows the ice cream to freeze before the churn gets too warm and gives the
ice cream its smooth texture.
The
custard should only fill your ice cream machine about half to two thirds full. This is so the custard has enough room to expand while it freezes so you end
up with an ice cream with a light
texture and no graininess. As the ice cream is still quite soft once
it has been churned in the machine, transfer it to a storage container and
place it in the freezer for a few hours before serving. This also
allows the flavors to mellow. Although I prefer to eat homemade ice
cream the day it is made, it can be stored for a few weeks in the freezer. It will become quite hard after being frozen for any length of time so
transfer it to the refrigerator to soften for about 30 minutes before
serving.
In a small
saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half and the vanilla
bean (if using) to the scalding point (the milk begins to foam up). Remove from heat, take out the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds from
the bean with the back of a knife, and mix the seeds back into the
half-and-half.
Meanwhile in a
stainless steel bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy
(about two minutes). You can do this with a wire whisk or I like
to use a hand mixer. Gradually pour the scalding
half-and-half into the whipped egg yolk mixture, making sure you keep
whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. If any lumps do
form, strain the mixture first before heating.
Place the bowl
over a saucepan of simmering water and, stirring constantly with a
wooden spoon, cook until the custard thickens enough that it coats the
back of a spoon (170 degrees F) (77 degrees C). The term 'coat a
spoon' is a technique used mainly as a way to
test when an egg-based custard or sauce is done. A spoon, usually
wooden, is placed in the custard and, when the spoon is raised, the film
of custard on the back of the spoon will stay in place even when you
draw a line with your finger through the middle of the custard.
Immediately
remove the custard from the heat and continue to stir the custard for a
few minutes so it does not overcook. At this point stir in the
vanilla extract, if using. Stir in the strawberry puree. Cover and let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate the custard until it is completely
cold (several hours but preferably overnight).
Transfer the
cold custard to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and
process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made,
transfer the ice cream to a chilled container and store in the freezer.
If the ice cream becomes too hard place in the refrigerator for about
30 minutes before serving so it can soften.
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