Fresh Ginger Ice Cream

Perhaps you've noticed that I love ginger.  Forever ago, Scott and I bought two pints of Haggen Dazs Five ice cream:  one chocolate and one ginger.  We don’t buy ice cream very often, but when we do, we like to get two different-flavored pints and nestle a scoop of each in our bowls.  When the ice cream is almost gone, we skip the bowls and eat straight from the cartons, passing them back and forth between us as we sit on our plaid couch and cheer for the people who opt for a "true Daily Double" on Jeopardy!  Inevitably, one flavor becomes the favorite, and when we get to the last spoonful, there is an awkward moment where each of us wants to let the other person eat the last bite, but is secretly hoping the other will say, "No, you eat it."  I suppose we could avoid our little battle of the spoons by always using bowls, but where is the fun in that? 

The ginger ice cream was the clear winner in that long-ago pint-pairing, and every time we go to the store on the quest for ice cream, I look for it, but never find any.  A few weeks ago we were walking to a neighborhood restaurant and stumbled across a store that sells local products.  I needed some heavy whipping cream for some chocolate ganache filling I was making, so we stopped in to see if they had any.  Sure enough, they had some in perfect little glass bottles.  After dinner, we picked up a bottle and headed home so I could get started on my baking project.  The recipe I was making only required a little bit of heavy cream, so I had enough left over for a single batch of ice cream.  I wanted to make an ice cream flavor that reflected my excitement in finding a source of dairy products in glass bottles within walking distance. 

As I thought back over our favorite flavors, I remembered how much we had enjoyed the ginger ice cream and decided to try it out.  I peeled and minced some fresh ginger, threw it in a pan with cream and sugar, heated it up, and then let it steep for an hour.  The steeping part is really important, mostly because it gives you a set amount of time to do other things that are necessary, but not necessarily fun, like vacuuming, washing the floors, and dusting.  If your living space isn't too big, you can do all of that stuff in the time it takes to imbue your cream with the exciting flavor of ginger.  Next, you strain it, add in a few more ingredients, chill it, and you're all set to churn and eat it the next day.  Really, it is that easy!   So, if you're waffling over obtaining an ice cream maker, and you like ginger, let this recipe be the one that pulls you into the amazing world of homemade ice cream.  Ginger ice cream is pure bliss.  It's refreshing, smooth, and creamy with just the right amount of fresh gingery heat.  You're really going to love it. 

Notes:
I find that the easiest way to mince this much ginger is to use the food processor.  I just peel the ginger, cut it into larger chunks, drop it in the processor, and pulse until the ginger is minced.  If you don’t have a food processor, just mince the ginger with a knife on a cutting board.  

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided use
5 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (about 4 ounces)
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Yields about one quart

Heat, Steep, Strain, Stir, Chill:
Combine one cup of the heavy whipping cream, the sugar, and ginger in a medium-sized pan.  Heat the mixture, stirring regularly, until the sugar is fully dissolved.  The mixture may boil a bit at the edges of the pan, and that is ok.  Cover the pan, and allow the mixture to steep (rest) for one hour.  After an hour, pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium-sized bowl, and press on the solids to extract all of the liquid.  Add the remaining heavy whipping cream, milk, and vanilla extract, and stir to combine.  Cover the mixture, and refrigerate for several hours until chilled, or overnight.  Discard the ginger solids.

Churn:
Pour the chilled ice cream base into your ice cream maker, and churn the mixture according to your ice cream maker instructions.  While the ice cream churns, place the container you will store the ice cream in into the freezer so it will be cold when you are ready to put the ice cream in it.  Once the ice cream is fully churned, transfer the ice cream to the chilled container.  Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the ice cream (to prevent ice crystals from forming), and freeze until the ice cream is firm.  Enjoy.

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