Blood Orange Ice Cream
Americans of a certain age might recall 1970’s Samsonsite luggage commercials. These advertisements featured a gorilla in an otherwise empty airport, trying and failing to destroy a Samsonite suitcase.
This ad came to mind Monday, when my husband returned after a brief trip. He’d flown on the “good” airline, the one reputed not to break wheelchairs.
You know where I am going with this.
I don’t know if airline personnel dropped John’s wheelchair from a height or otherwise somehow crashed it, but the y managed to crack the battery case and the back wheel mechanism. Wheelchairs are built for durability; both breakages take some effort. The chair is running, and the airline is very very sorry. Somebody is coming to repair the damages on Monday.
This is nice. It also means I will have to be around to lift John out of the chair, as wheelchairs, like cars, cannot be repaired while their owners are sitting in them. Repair personnel cannot move wheelchair users for liability reasons. A wife, of course, doesn’t count. If her day, to nothing of her back, is wrecked, nobody cares. At least she won’t sue.
Our backyard at sunrise. I figured nobody wanted to see a broken wheelchair.
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So, the recipe.
It’s still blood orange season around here, a fleeting time that for many that has already fled. If you count yourself on team fled, do not despair. Or despair about other things: there are plenty. You can still make blood orange ice cream. Just substitute another citrus fruit.
All of life should be so simple.
Wait! You may cry, I have no ice cream maker! Fear not. The world of open freezing calls to you. Simply pour your ice cream-to-be in a freezer-proofer vessel, cover it, and place it in the freezer. Stir occasionally. In a few hours, ice cream.
According to David Lebovitz, whose The Perfect Scoop is an excellent resource for all things ice cream, there are two types of ice cream: Philadelphia Style and French Style. Philadelphia Style doesn’t use eggs, French does. Blood orange ice cream is Philadelphia Style for two reasons: 1. I wanted the citrus flavor to really sing through, and 2. I was being lazy.
While we’re discussing laziness, let us discuss zesting fruits. How I detest this kitchen task. The zest always clings to the Microplane in damp clumps, stubbornly refusing to fall into the bowl. Am I the only one? Should you feel differently–or be a better zester–go for it.
Juicing the oranges was another story. I stuck in there until reaching 3/4 cup (170 ml), a messy, sticky experience that ultimately paid off.
Do not wear your favorite silk shirt whilst juicing, or any garment you care about, for that matter. Blood orange juice is lovely to behold. Until you are wearing it.
Orange liqueurs like Cointreau or Grand Marnier make lovely additions to blood orange ice cream, provided they are added in small amounts. So does almond extract. If using expensive liqueurs makes you flinch, orange extract makes a fine substitute. So does plain old vanilla.
A few weeks ago I accidentally bought baker’s sugar instead of regular granulated. Baker sugar, known as Caster sugar in the UK, is finer than regular sugar but not quite confectioner’s. It dissolves more quickly than granulated sugar, meaning it’s useful in recipes like this one. You can make your own by placing regular sugar in a food processor or, if you are patient, a mortar and pestle. This said, regular granulated sugar works in this recipe.
Blood orange ice cream is best consumed within two weeks. This should not prove difficult.
Blood Orange Ice Cream
Yield: about 3 generous cups/700 grams
This recipe would not exist without David Lebovitz’s Vanilla Ice Cream recipe, found in The Perfect Scoop.
Please read notes, below, for information and variations.
Blood orange ice cream may be made with an ice cream make or a large, freezer-proof vessel. Be sure to make space in your refrigerator for the ice cream to chill, 4-24 hours, and then in the freezer for storage.
Blood orange ice cream takes about 30 minutes to prepare. The cream needs 4-24 hours chilling time, then time in an ice cream maker or freezer.
3-4 blood oranges for juicing; you’ll need 3/4 cup/160ml juice
2 cups/16 ounces/474 grams heavy cream
1 cup/8 ounces/225 grams milk or half-and-half
3/4 cup/6 ounces/160 grams sugar or baker’s sugar
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional; see notes)
1 teaspoon Cointreau or other orange liqueuer (optional, see notes)
You will need a medium pot, 3 measuring cups, and a bowl big enough to hold 3 cups/710ml liquid. Ideally one of the measuring cups will hold up to four cups, saving you washing up. If not, that’s fine. You will also need a medium saucepan.
You will also need a way to juice the oranges. I quartered them, then placed a small strainer over a measuring cup and squeezed orange quarters over the strainer. This was messy but effective. If you use this method, wear an apron and/or old clothes, as the juice spatters.
Juice enough oranges to measure 3/4 cup/160 ml orange juice. Set aside.
Measure one cup of cream and pour it into the pan. Add sugar to pan and turn heat to very low. Add pinch salt.
Measure remaining cream and milk into the creamy measuring cup and set aside. Turn your attention to the pot. Bring heat to medium and stir cream/sugar mixture a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves. Do not let milk boil. Once sugar is dissolved–4-5 minutes–remove pan from heat, stirring to help milk cool.
Set pot on wooden board or other heatproof surface. Add the extracts, stirring to blend.
Now tip contents of pan into the large bowl, stirring as soon as you can, allowing ingredients to blend.
Add the blood orange juice. It should tint the cream a lovely pale pink.
Allow the cream to cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate 4-24 hours.
If you are not using an ice cream maker:
Once the cream is completely cold, either freeze as is, or transfer to ramekins and freeze, covered.
If you are using an ice cream maker:
To freeze in ice cream maker, follow machine instructions. I find it helpful to have a bowl beside the ice cream maker. When it’s time to pour the ice cream into a container, I put the dasher into the nearby bowl. Less mess. Use a freezer safe container. Ideally this container should have lid, but foil or plastic wrap work, too.
Blood Orange Ice Cream will keep, frozen, about ten days.
Notes:
Substitute citrus fruit of your choice. Taste for sweetness; if using especially tart lemon or grapefruit, you may need to add more sugar.
I used baker’s sugar in this recipe. In the UK this is called caster sugar. Baker’s sugar is finer than regular sugar, allowing it to dissolve faster. The recipe will work fine using regular granulated sugar. You can make baker’s sugar at home in a spice grinder, mini food processor, or mortar and pestle.
As noted in the post, orange liqueur heightens the ice cream’s flavor but is optional. Orange extract will work for a fraction of the cost. Use vanilla if you prefer, or subsitute whatever you like. (Hazelnut? Mint?) If using another type of citrus fruit, adjust extract accordingly.
Feel free to modify the dairy: use all heavy cream, or all milk, or a mixture. I would not advise using all skim milk, or all lowfat milk, as the taste will be compromised.
Finally, anyone seriously interested in citrus fruit is well advised to consult Catherine Phipps’ cookbook Citrus. Informed, elegant, and full of engaging recipes, it’s a wonderful way to learn more about fruits we all too often take for granted.
In closing I want to remember Jeffrey Alford, who died on January 17th, aged 69.
Alford was married to Naomi Duguid from 1986-2009. During that time, the couple wrote seven books, including Seductions of Rice, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Flatbreads and Flavors, and Beyond The Great Wall. These books combine travel, food writing, recipes, anthropology, and stunning photography in a gorgeous, culturally sensitive mix.
Alford died of complications from a liver fluke infection contracted years ago. He is survived by his sons, Dominic and Tashi, immediate family, and, of course, his work.
