Buttermilk Ice Cream

And they doubted me that it would taste good....

Last Saturday night I went home to visit the family and help my grandmother move. I ended up also cooking dinner for my parents, grandmother, sister, and kiddos. I made a thrown together version of the summery pasta that Jana and I cooked in Idaho last year. We used some of the vegetables my brother has been growing in his garden. (The compound really could be self-sustaining if it had to be. You can find fish and deer for meat (or cats, squirrels and raccoons if you are into that stuff), and eat corn, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, pears, squash, zucchini, etc. That's how we roll!

Anyway, for dessert I wanted a special treat, and since my mom had some fresh (from the market) strawberries and (grown by a friend) blueberries, I decided to make some homemade ice cream to go with them. I flipped through my mom's ice cream cookbook, and stumbled upon a buttermilk recipe. I'm always looking for ways to use the buttermilk I buy when I make banana bread, and this is a great follow-up to that!

Buttermilk Ice Cream
(Adapted from A Passion for Ice Cream cookbook.)

Ingredients:
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups buttermilk

Directions: Whisk together egg yolks, salt and 1/4 cup of sugar. Cook heavy whipping cream and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar on medium heat until almost simmering. Remove from heat, and slowly begin to temper eggs with cream mixture. As you add cream mixture into eggs, whisk and pour slowly in order to prevent "cooking" the eggs.

Return mixture to pan and cook on medium heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon or non-stick spatula. Use a candy thermometer to measure temperature, and continue cooking custard until it reaches 175 degrees and lightly coats the spoon. Strain custard into a medium sized bowl.

Fill a larger bowl with ice and water, and set medium bowl in the ice bath. Chill custard mixture in the ice bath for an hour or so. You can also put custard in fridge for four hours or overnight to chill.

When ready to put in ice cream mixture, stir in buttermilk. Then churn/freeze according to the manufacturer instructions of your ice cream machine. Serve immediately, or store in freeze. Top with fresh fruit or your favorite ice cream toppings.

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Side note: I totally rocked this ice cream! It was amazing! My family doubted the yumminess of buttermilk ice cream at first, but ended up LOVING it! Its a great treat for a summer holiday...such as...you know...4th of July!