Having learnt the method of making ice cream at Culinary school I vowed to myself never to buy store bought ice cream from the grocery stores (of course I do visit gourmet ice-cream shops to keep myself updated of the industry trends).The taste of fresh home made ice cream beats every other store bought ice cream hands down.If you are considering buying an ice-cream machine I highly recommend it.
Lets talk about vanilla here a bit. Did you know majority of the vanilla available to us in US is fake or artificially synthesized?Ive once attended a workshop on Vanilla and learnt a big deal about fair trade, ethically sourced vanilla at my Culinary School.Sharing some pics of the same- some crafts made with the used bean,different types of bean and the bean paste.You can read more about it here and also find a lot of savory uses of vanilla as well.
Heres some varieties of vanilla with their flavor profiles
- Madagascar Vanilla – rich and creamy
- Mexican Vanilla – bold, dark, smokey
- Indian Vanilla – full, chocolate
- Indonesian Vanilla – mild, well balanced
- Tahitian Vanilla – floral, cherry-chocolate
- Tonga Vanilla – earthy, fig, raisin
Source :https://www.beanilla.com/vanilla-faqs
The bean I used is Indian vanilla from Wayanad region of Kerala in India.Made this for my dessert loving mom and brother. Lets indulge in the creamy yummy goodness.
| Preparation time | 40 minutes plus time for freezing |
| Serves | 8 servings |
| Serving Size | 1 serving |
| Calories Per Serving | Approximately 283 per serving |
| Difficulty | Medium |
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup of sugar(adjust to your taste)
1 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
Procedure:
1.Split and scrape the inside of the vanilla bean and add it to the cream. Bring the cream to a simmer in a pan and turn off the stove and let it steep for a few minutes.
2.In a bowl take the egg yolks and sugar and beat until they are pale.
3.Now gently add little by little cream into the egg yolk mixture and keep whisking to combine(this process is called tempering).After all the cream has been incorporated, transfer the mixture back to the pan and on a medium low gently keep stirring until the temperature of the mixture reaches between 175-179F.Turn off the stove.
4.Immediately transfer the mixture to a bowl through a sieve to filter out the vanilla bean and any chunks you may have. Keep a bowl of ice water under it and let it cool by gently stirring it.This mixture is called a Creme Anglaise.Place in the refrigerator and let cool overnight or 4 hours.Transfer the mixture to an ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturing directions(around 20 minutes).
5.After the ice cream is churned transfer to a container and freeze in the refrigerator for atleast 2 hours and enjoy frozen.
Tips:
Since this is an egg based ice-cream make sure you cook your egg and cream mixture to the temperature to avoid eating raw eggs and running the risk of salmonella.
Do not use high heat when cooking the egg cream mixture- you will end up with scrambled eggs.
If you do not have vanilla bean you can use vanilla extract but the bean makes a lot of difference.
You can store the used vanilla bean after drying it in your sugar to flavor it with vanilla.
Do not over-churn the ice-cream or you will end up with curdled mixture.
If you like this post and would like to see more such lovely dishes like my page Yummilicious Recipes and follow my blog.
Prathima Koneru 
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