July is National Blueberry Month. Local farm stands and grocery stores are starting to stock freshly picked blueberries as the season has begun. We have a farm near us, C.N. Smith Farm, where we normally pick our blueberries. Next weekend, we will head over to grab a few batches for this season's blueberry recipes.
Over the holiday, we had a few guests come over for lunch and dinner. We decided to make some ice cream and Lemon Vodka Sorbet and Blueberries and Cream Ice Cream were on our list. We thought it could be the amazing pairing of two cold treats.
One of the best kitchen gadgets we purchased, in the past few years, is an ice cream maker. When our friends, Sharon and Bryan arrived, Brian thought the ice cream machine was the neatest thing. He had never seen the process of making ice cream. Because our machine is open at the top, you can taste the ice cream while it is setting. This is always fun when there are guests around...everyone gets a spoon and a taste.
The initial part of making the blueberries and cream ice cream, making the puree, was easy. I would suggest making it the night before as it takes about an hour, with cooling time, and the mixture can refrigerated overnight. Adding the cream and lemon juice and the mixing in the ice cream machine means another 30 minutes. If you can give the ice cream 2-3 hours to set in the freezer (after mixing) you will be ready to go.
After cleaning up dinner, we sat down to finish the evening with our blueberries and cream ice cream. I was laughing as I was trying to decide on how to tell you what our friends thought. So, here it is...
Comments and Reviews: (From the first batch!)
"Amazing!", "Probably the best ice cream you've ever made!", "Better than real blueberries!", "Will you make more?"
We hope this inspires you to try making a batch of ice cream. Not only is it easy, the process is entertaining and the results are delicious! Or should I say Blueberri-lious!
This recipe was adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Ice Cream Cookbook.
Ingredients:
2 cups of fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries
3/4 cup of water
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Preparation:
1. Place the blueberries, water and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once it has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat and allow the flavor to blend together, about 30 minutes.
3. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
4. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 3-24 hours.
5. When ready to make the ice cream, add the cream and lemon juice to the chilled blueberry puree. Mix to combine.
6. Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
7. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container and cover tightly. Freeze until firm.
Scoop and enjoy!
