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Recipe: Lemon and Lavender Ice Cream, the Sunny Taste of Summer

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Lots of lavender in the garden and the spirit of invention has led to some late night ice cream making marathons. But, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I couldn’t come up with a lavender-scented ice cream that was quite right. Several batches were so flowery that no one could eat them, others—especially those with custard bases—were simply strange when combined with lavender’s camphorous edge. Gallons of milk, quarts of cream, lots of sugar and eggs, and handfuls of lavender—all went down the drain, usually around 2 A.M.

Then Serendipity, just back from France, said, “Mom, I really don’t want to eat lavender ice cream. Mix it with some citrus.” Out of the mouths of babes, especially 20-year-olds, breezing through the kitchen…

She was thinking grapefruit, but I was thinking lemon. Lemon and lavender are a lovely blend of flavors, especially in the dog days of summer. When making ice cream, the secret is to keep all these ingredients in balance—milk with not too much cream, grated lemon zest, a modest amount of lavender, and less sugar than you might imagine. If an ice cream can be described as “sunny,” this is it: bright, sweet, tart and then, that mysterious taste of the flower.

Merci, Serendipity…next we’ll try the grapefruit. Perhaps an ice?

Lemon and Lavender Ice Cream

To make one quart

Ingredients:

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
8 fresh lavender blossoms, organic (unsprayed)
Grated zest of 1 lemon, or to taste

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, gently heat the milk, cream and sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the lavender blossoms and continue to heat until the mixture is very hot. (Do not boil.) Remove from the flame and stir in the grated zest of 1 lemon. Let the mixture steep for 30 to 60 minutes, tasting occasionally to be sure that the lavender flavor does not become overpowering. If desired, add more lemon zest.
2. Strain the mixture into a large bowl, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until very cold, at least three to four hours.
3. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. This ice cream is best if served immediately after freezing.

Comments (3)

Melanie Kurhan:

Just found your blog and I am amazed! I can smell and taste it already... What a wonderful place to be.

Thank you, and lots of love,
Melanie
(who's going to have lavender ice cream this summer)

Sharon Houck:

I recently had some lavender and lemon ice cream at a local cafe and was very excited to find your recipe. My questions are: any particular kind of lavender? I am growing "blue cushion" augustifolia variety in my yard. What constitutes a 'blossom' - an individual flower or a stem of flowers? Thank you.

Your blue cushion angustifolia sounds dreamy, and I would certainly try it when it blooms. For this recipe, I used the full flower head, minus the stem. (Recipes that call for a teaspoon, say, of lavender, refer to the individual flowers.) Some lavender is quite strong and spicy, so you may want to adjust the quantity--taste the mixture midway through the steeping process and see what you think.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 8, 2006 9:01 AM.

The previous post in this blog was A Spicy Declaration of Independence: On the Fourth, Pork Ribs, Corn on the Cob and a World of Flavor.

The next post in this blog is Grazing: Five Hours at New York's Fancy Food Show (Part 1).

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