We split the recipe in half and did one half as written (mold on left), and the other (mold on right) with two changes: instead of all cream, we did half cream and half milk (one pint of each), and for this lower-fat version, we also scraped out the insides of the vanilla bean because there's such goodness inside those pricey little fellows, it was hard to just strain it out, as Mr. Jefferson suggests.
Thomas Jefferson's Vanilla Ice Cream
makes about 4 pints (2 quarts, 1/2 gallon)
6 yolks of eggs
1/2 lb sugar (1 1/4 cups)
2 bottles (quarts) of good cream (4 pints)
1 vanilla bean
Mix the yolks and sugar together. Put the cream on a fire in a casserole, first putting in a stick of vanilla. When near boiling, take it off and pour it gently into the mixture of eggs and sugar. Stir it well. Put it on the fire again, stirring it thoroughly with a spoon to prevent it's sticking to the casserole. When near boiling, take it off and strain it thro' a towel. Put it in the Sabottiere* then set it in ice an hour before it is to be served. Put into the ice a handful of salt. Put salt on the coverlid of the Sabotiere and cover the whole with ice. Leave it still half a quarter of an hour. Then turn the Sabottiere in the ice 10 minutes open it to loosen with a spatula the ice from the inner sides of the Sabotiere. Shut it & replace it in the ice open it from time to time to detach the ice from the sides when well taken (prise) stir it well with the spatula. Put it in moulds, justling it well down on the knee. Then put the mould into the same bucket of ice. Leave it there to the moment of serving it. To withdraw it, immerse the mould in warm water, turning it well till it will come out and turn it into a plate.
*The Sabottiere is the inner cannister of what we now know as an ice cream maker.
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Wow, that's a lot of egg yolks. He didn't know enough to be afraid of clogging his arteries and getting a stroke and being paralyzed like Laura Horton and watching terrible things take place before your eyes and not being able to do anything about them all because you ate all that bacon in one go.
Anyway, I bought the cuisinart basic ice cream machine though I tried not to because they, Crate and Barrel, were giving away the extra freezer bowl. Nuts! So keep posting recipes so I won't have to buy any ice cream recipe books that I will never use so much anyway.
Now, strangely, Williams Sonoma is selling a yogurt machine for a good discount and I never have yogurt at home but I do have nonthaiamerican's Thai Kitchen coconut milk on hand usually and you need both to make a decent curry so do you have a yogurt machine? Isn't it wrong to buy one ... even though kefir is so cool.
What the heck does a yogurt machine even do??? I make yogurt and kefir all the time, and the routine goes something like this: pour milk into jug, add starter (store bought powder, or just add some left over yogurt from the last batch), cover jug and leave on the counter for a day or two. I'm going to have to google this now purely out of curiosity.
Nanana,
Six egg yolks in a half gallon of ice-cream, that feeds at least eight people... not so much. Your coconut milk, however... a 2oz serving (that's 1/4 cup) of Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk has 120 calories and 10 grams of fat, 7 grams of which are saturated fat. Sure, there's no cholesterol in coconut milk, and that's a plus, but let's not give the eggs too bad of a rap!
Seems like we should give credit where credit is due. This was featured at Cooper-Hewitt's exhibition, "Feeding Desire: Design and Tools of the Table, 1500-2005" I think they were the "someone who came across his personal recipe."
http://ndm.si.edu/EXHIBITIONS/feeding_desire/index.asp
ok. too bad because I was dreaming how I would compensate for loss of mouth feel from using low fat milk instead of cream with a can of coconut milk. Guess not. I'm imagining freezing everything now.
Mommy Cooks posted an intriguing message about lemon and buttermilk ice cream; check her out:
http://mathomhouse.typepad.com/mommy_cooks/
Thanks, Caitlin. I backed off of the yogurt starter when I checked the prices on amazon and the Williams Sonoma sale price wasn't such a comparable deal. Their sale prices usually aren't such great value but that Crate and Barrel free freezer bowl was just too much for me. Just too much.
Eliza,
Actually, the story of Jefferson and his recipe for ice cream is all over the place and any food historian will tell you it's been widely known for quite a while - long before the Cooper Hewitt was tearing admissions tickets.
The actual scrawled-out recipe is held by the Library of Congress (see my link), and I originally read about it in the History of Ice Cream piece (http://www.idfa.org/facts/icmonth/page7.cfm) that I summarized this week (http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/food-history/the-history-of-ice-cream-010856).
I still haven't made it to the Cooper-Hewitt's exhibition, but hope to before it closes in October - thanks for the reminder!
The fats in coconut milk are actually quite good for you, do a little reading and you won't be scared to eat it (but buy a nicer brand next time, like Chaokoh). Coconut ice cream is one of the easiest things to make (that and alphonso mango sorbet from the Kesar mango puree you can buy). Sweeten your coconut milk with palm or brown sugar, add a shake or two of salt, and freeze. Top with corn kernels, roasted peanuts and candied hearts of palm for a Thai-style treat, or just enjoy it as is. And you can even feed it to your vegan friends!
regards,
trillium
OK, point taken. I think I just got erked by the "someone came across his personal recipe." It frustrates me when museums and libraries don't get credit for the work that they do (is it obvious that I work in a nonprofit?) Also, I was a little trigger happy on a muggy, rainy Friday. Sorry for jumping the gun.
That said, I can't recommend the exhibition enough. They have a tour everyday at 3 p.m., and I'm going back next week to take it!
Oh, for pity's sake! If you're gonna eat ice cream, eat ice cream, enjoy that ultra velvety texture real cream and lots of eggs bring. You don't have to eat it all the time.
Try this and see if it doesn't rock your world.
3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
9 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F.
Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.
Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.
To take the conversation in a slightly different direction, I wanted to ask more about the coconut milk and mango puree Trillium mentioned. I'm always looking for both ingredients, and generally, the best I can do for the coconut is Goya. Mango puree? Forget it.
Does anyone have favorite brands for coconut milk and mango puree? And as my current neighborhood's grocery stores are not exactly culinary meccas, where might such items be found?
ok, thanks for the reassurance re coconut milk; checking Amazon confirmed my recall that chaokoh has a preservative. I like Thai Kitchen band.