Summer is a comin’ in

Summertime, and desserts are easy: Strawberry Rose ice cream with more strawberries on top. Homemade, low sugar and simple, that is, if you have an ice cream maker.

Okay, I know that technically, it isn’t summer yet. Summer doesn’t start until after the summer solstice, which is coming up in a couple of weeks or so.

But when it is ninety degrees out and the ground is dry from lack of rain, my body says it is summer.

And when it is summer, and it is hot outside, the last thing most normal people want to do is bake something for dessert.

My answer–invest in an ice cream maker, make ice cream and let people think you are the best and brightest genius on the block.

And since it is that time of year–make strawberry ice cream!

As you can see from the following illustrations, the process is pretty simple, with the bonus that it does not heat up the house.

You start with fresh, ripe berries, hopefully locally grown. Rinse them and let them drain completely, or dry them gently with paper towels.

Cut them up into small pieces (they do not have to look pretty), and sprinkle with sugar to taste (I used a couple of tablespoons) and allow to macerate until a lot of juice has been released.

Add rosewater and lemon juice to taste.

Puree two thirds of the berries; I like to use an immersion blender for this step.

Add dairy products with the immersion blender–here I used heavy cream and sour cream. Be careful not to introduce too much air into the mixture by keeping the active part of the blender completely submerged. After the dairy products are mixed in, you can stir the reserved one third of the berry mixture into the ice cream base, or do what I did and leave it out to use as a topping.

After you have the dairy products mixed in, you pour it into the ice cream maker’s mixing chamber, and then follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

As you can see, my ice cream maker is an electric version of the old fashioned hand-cranked kind that uses layers of crushed ice and salt in the plastic outer chamber. The inner chamber is metal and conducts the cold temperature from the ice into the ice cream mix. The motor is on the base, and the dasher, which churns the ice cream, is attached to the blue lid, and connects to the base through a piece in the metal chamber. The motor turns the dasher, and the dasher circulates the ice cream mixture, in order to evenly freeze it. The action of the dasher also incorporates some air into the mixture, which lightens the product, and the continual mixing prevents the formation of large ice crystals.

My ice cream maker’s motor stops as soon as the ice cream is finished freezing. At this point, I unplug the motor, lift out the freezing chamber, pull off the lid and pull out the dasher. The ice cream is the texture of soft serve ice cream at this point, and while you can eat it now, I like to pack it into a plastic container and seal it then put it into the freezer for a while to harden.

Here is the exact recipe I used to make the ice cream pictured above:

Strawberry Rose Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 quart fresh, ripe strawberries at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
rosewater to taste
fresh lemon juice to taste
2 cups sour cream
1 cup heavy cream

Method:

Follow the instructions as pictured above! You can use more sugar if you like, but I prefer to use less sugar in the ice cream and serve it with a sweeter topping, like the reserved 1/3 of a quart of berries.

5 Comments

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1. In Germany, the first day of summer is May 1st, and the Summer Solstice is Mid-Summer, with summer’s end being August 1. Only in America have I ever heard that summer begins after Mid-Summer Day. I’ve always wondered why.

   Comment by Noddy — June 13, 2005 #

2. Well, I always got confused about the solstice being “midsummer” everywhere else but it being the beginning of summer in the US.

   Especially growing up in West Virginia where summer really does start in May. It gets bloody hot there by the middle of May.

   So, uh, yeah. Beltaine is definately the beginning of summer in my mind, with midsummer being the middle of summer. (Hence the name….)

   Comment by Barbara Fisher — June 14, 2005 #

3. […] Dijaj Machboos (Middle Eastern Chicken with Rice) Aphrodite Cakes Strawberry Rosewater Ice Cream Rose-hip Tea […]

   Pingback by A Rose is a Rose is a Rose! « A Mad Tea Party — May 18, 2007 #

4. Very useful good preparation your method

   Comment by thatchina — July 18, 2007 #

5. nice! summer food atleast safe and it contains nutrients that can be enjoyed this coming sem-break……hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!mmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn..

   Comment by keraleen — October 8, 2007 #

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