Several weeks ago, a colleague was doing a story time with a
group of kids. She was trying to think
of something no one would want to eat and suggested pickle ice cream. One kid’s hand shot up immediately as he
shouted, “I would eat that!”
Which is precisely when I decided to make pickle ice cream.
However, I was also leery of making something incredibly
gross. I wanted a recipe that would be
good but unconventional and still taste like pickles. I decided to incorporate pickles into a
coconut ice cream recipe because, surprisingly, coconut and pickles are really
good together (added to curry, anyway).
Which is how we eventually got this week’s recipe, Coconut/Pickle Ice
Cream.
I decided to adapt a recipe from several months ago, Coconut
Ice Cream with Crystallized Ginger.
It was a really good recipe with a high butterfat content and strong
coconut flavor. It was also a pretty
small batch, which meant that if this were an unmitigated disaster, I wouldn’t
have to waste too much food. I also
combined the baked coconut shavings from another ice cream recipe, Triple
Coconut Ice Cream, to give it extra body.
And then I just added some dill pickle juice and waited.
The result is not bad.
The pickle tang is present but not overpowering and pairs well with the
coconut flavor. The juice soured the
base a bit, giving it a tart flavor not unlike frozen yogurt. It’s actually something that you could eat a
lot of and not feel sick over.
However, there are several things I’d like to try in the
future such as changing around the base and adding more pickle juice. But I’ll save those musings for the end. Until then, here’s the recipe for
Coconut/Pickle Ice Cream.
Ingredients
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- ½ cup sweetened coconut shavings
Directions
- Pour the coconut milk into a heavy medium saucepan, making sure to scrape the thick part at the bottom; whisk to homogenize. Whisk in the cream, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for approximately 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the coconut cream is hot.
- Beat the egg yolks lightly in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in about ½ cup of warm coconut cream at a time until you’ve added about 2 cups. Then return the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (If it won’t thicken, raise the temperature to medium.). Do not let boil or the egg yolks will curdle.
- Remove the coconut custard from heat and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 6 hours.
- Approximately an hour before you transfer the mixture into an ice cream maker, toast ½ cup of shredded sweetened coconut. To do so, preheat the over to 350 degrees F. Place the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until lightly colored and fragrant – about 10 minutes. Flip after five minutes. Once done, set aside to cool.
- Once the custard is cold, stir in the vanilla and pickle juice (You may have to strain beforehand to get out any seeds. Also go slowly so you can add to taste.). Pour the custard into the canister of an ice cream maker and freeze according to its directions (Before it’s completely churned, add in the coconut shavings.). Transfer the ice cream to a covered container and freeze until it is firm enough to scoop, at least 3 hours or overnight.
The resulting ice cream has a thick, creamy texture with a
strong coconut flavor and the unmistakable tang of pickle. It’s a bit tart and will linger on the
tongue, but I assure you that it’s quite good and won’t harm you in the least.
However, as I said before, there are some things I’d like to
try with this recipe. One would be to
turn the base into a Greek yogurt base as I think the pickle would pair well
with it. Another would be to up the
pickle taste, possibly be adding the flavor in earlier and letting it sit
overnight (or just adding more juice).
Finally, I think it’d be fun to add just a little green and yellow food
dye to really hammer home that you’re about to eat pickle. I think doing so will increase people’s
enjoyment of this weird little treat.
Keep an eye out for other pickle-related recipes, but until then, enjoy!
Overview
- Base prep time: 30 minutes
- Base chill time: at least 6 hours
- Ice cream set time: at least 3 hours
- Taste: thick and creamy, strongly of coconut with a sweet tartness and a tang of pickle
- Difficulty level: low
- Expense level: low to medium
- Makes: about 4 cups
No comments:
Post a Comment