Recipe 4: Green Tea Ice Cream

Saturday, January 17, 2015

            I chose to make green tea ice cream this week because my sister really loves green tea ice cream (and green tea in general).  I don’t like it.  I find it very bitter, a little smoky, kind of dry, and overall unpleasant.  When I drink it, I have to add something heinous like citrus or acai or blueberry; even then, it’s barely palatable to me.

            That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious this ice cream was.  It calls for matcha (green tea powder), which is a beautiful olive green and smells very sweet and pleasant.  Once I mixed it with the other ingredients and allowed the flavors to develop, the bitter, smoky taste was evident but nicely diluted by the cream and milk.  I actually found that the more ice cream I ate, the better it tasted – and a little bit of whipped cream and chocolate pocky helped too.  Most of the people that have tried it think it’s too strong, so I’d recommend dialing the matcha down to maybe two tablespoons if you don’t like strong green tea flavor.  However, my sister absolutely loved it and even munched it down with matcha pocky.

            The texture was also very smooth and creamy.  Matcha foams up, and I think that really helped smooth out the ice cream.  In the future, I think I’ll drop the amount down to only two tablespoons and shave chocolate on top.  I personally think green tea ice cream needs something added to it to keep the taste from becoming overpowering.  I took the following recipe from Peggy Fallon’s book Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup granulated white sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Dash of salt
• 3 tablespoons green tea powder (matcha – add less if you don’t like a strong green tea flavor)
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the milk and sugar.  Whisk to dissolve the sugar.  Whisk in the cream and salt.
2. Gradually whisk in the matcha 1 tablespoon at a time, blending until smooth (this will take a little while).  Stir in the vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to allow the flavors to develop (I did just under 2 hours.).
3. Pour into the canister of an ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions.  Transfer the ice cream to a covered contained and freeze until it’s firm enough to scoop, preferably overnight.

            Honestly, this ice cream was so delicious that it’ll even convert staunch anti-green tea drinkers like me.  Adjusting the matcha will help for really finicky eaters as will adding whipped cream, chocolate, pocky, and shortbread.  I absolutely recommend this ice cream.  A+ all the way.

Overview

• Base prep time: 20 minutes
• Base chill time: 1 to 2 hours
• Ice cream set time: preferably overnight (at least 3 hours)
• Taste: a little bitter and smoky but very creamy; pairs well with chocolate; bitterness will increase the more matcha you use
• Difficult level: low
• Expense level: medium (matcha is a bit pricey)
• Makes: about 1 quart (4 cups)