I found this red sweet corn at Whole Foods and I'll admit it, I am a sucker for anything new and different. Those marketers get me every time. From all the rare monsoon rains we received this spring, we have had to re-plant our garden and it is iffy whether we'll get a sweet corn crop or anything else from our patch. Nevertheless, I have been waiting since last summer to try a new recipe. Are you ready for this?
Sweet corn ice cream. Just let me skip to the chase. It is sublime. Summer at its finest. I just wanted to taste the corn flavor and didn't add any vanilla or butter essence, honey, etc. I'm sure it would also be good in combination with other fruits, herbs, flavorings and the like.
Having been a cook/baker for a long time, I made up my own recipe after reading the original one. I am not making a custard for ice cream. I whipped and folded in egg whites into a dessert one time and never again. Baking/cooking is an exact science, but that's only for the novices.
My Cuisinart makes one quart of ice cream and this is my recipe for the ice cream. I cut the uncooked kernels from the cobs and blended it with a little whole milk (about 1/4 cup). Blended the heck out of it in the blender, in fact. I then strained it through a sieve. The mixture was added into the ice cream container with a can of sweetened condensed milk and filled to the brim with whole milk and a good splash of heavy whipping cream. I could hardly wait till it finished freezing and was not disappointed. As I said, summer at its finest.
If I were a professional chef serving haute cuisine in a starred restaurant, I would have strained it till the cows came home. I would also have served it in perfect cannelles with dots and swirls of this and that, perhaps a tuille cookie or praline. But, it wouldn't have tasted any better. Below, is the original recipe for sweet corn ice cream. Delicious, I am certain, but I am not going to that much trouble, but let me know if you do and how it turned out.
SWEET CORN ICE CREAM
3 cups fresh uncooked corn kernels
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cut the kernels from the cob. Place the kernels in a medium saucepan with the cream, milk and sugar. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Place a lid on the pan and allow the mixture to steep for an hour. After an hour, strain the cream mixture through a wire sieve. Use the back of a spoon to press as much liquid out of the corn as possible. Discard the corn. Return the strained cream to the saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and salt; set aside. Heat the cream over medium, stirring constantly, until it begins to steam (do not allow to boil). Turn off the heat. Temper the egg yolks by whisking them rapidly while slowly adding the cream mixture. Transfer the cream and egg yolk mixture back to saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. When the cream has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove it from the heat. Pour through a fine sieve. Cover and chill overnight. Once the custard has chilled, stir in the vanilla and freeze in an ice cream machine according to machine instructions. Transfer ice cream to a container, cover and freeze until firm.
(See, I told you. Too much work for me.)
PS ~ I don't know if sweet corn is as big a deal in other places as it is here in the American south. Please let me know if it is a staple in other parts of the country and world.
25 comments:
I am just dumbfounded at the expertise you must have to go from custard, etc, to whiz it to smithereens in the food processor! I would love to sit in your kitchen. But not to cook; thank goodness I do none of that. I'm a sucker for Hershey's chocolate peanut butter in a waffle cone--three scoops and only once a summer.
Oh Joanne, I admire your willpower.
We have an ice cream parlour quite near to where we live and they usually have around thirty different flavours available at any time - but I have never seen sweet corn ice cream on the menu!
I am a big ice cream fan and am sure I would like this - well done for being adventurous.
I would have been a sucker for the corn too! And the chintz patterend tea cup and saucer..
love the Cusiinart!
Never had corn ice cream..interesting Donna!
I just wish you could taste it Weaver.
I am sure you could make my recipe without an ice cream machine and just put it in the freezer.
Monique, I've collected chintz for years - all different patterns, from flea markets like your post today. I just love it. I'm not sure if sweet corn is as big a thing other places than the south in America. Usually, it is most popular on the cob drenched in butter. I know they eat it in Mexico also. It was so good. I'm going to try it on the kids and grandkids this weekend and not tell them what kind it is.
Corn is big in KY. Haven't had it in ice cream before. I don't doubt it was delicious.
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It is Michelle. I think it is one of my favorites. I had read about hay ice cream once, but around here, too many toxic plants grow, so I would be afraid to try it. I did try clover ice cream. My husband said it tasted like grass, but I liked it, though not the slight aftertaste. I need to try a different approach to that.
I did get your comment Frances on another post. I love living vicariously through you and seeing what's going on in the big city. Country mouse/city mouse kind of thing. Love to have you visiting.
I like sweetcorn and icecream but not sure I would like that combination although I suppose sweetcorn is quite sweet!I I love the way you have served it in the tea cup. We have corn on the cob that appears in August we mainly eat it frozen, that red variety looks so unusual. Sarah x
It does seem odd I know, but I tried it out tonight on my sister and didn't tell her what kind it was. She said, oh no, I hope it's not that clover kind you gave me the other time. She couldn't guess what kind it was until I told her then she could tell what it was. She liked it very much.
That Devon cream will definitely not keep after opening Donna. I would say two days at the most in the fridge and perhaps only an hour or two in the open. You could put any surplus into scones though - it would make delicious ones.
Oh, to be sure! Corn is a staple in the state of Iowa! We have fields of corn stretching from here to kingdom come! Much of it is used to feed animals.
Thank you Weaver. I will save it for the perfect scones then.
Becky, when I was 5, we lived in Waterloo for a year, but after that winter, my father moved us back to OK. But, I remember the fields of corn everywhere and we'd play indian in those teepees of corn stalks. It is beautiful in the summer.
That is such a weird combination, it MUST be good. I would eat it. We here in Tennessee LOVE our sweet corn. You could have been a great chef with your love of cooking, expertise and willingness to try ODD recipes. My dad was a chef, I didn't learn a thing from him. I guess I should have asked.
I know it sounds odd but it was really good. Going to try it out on the family coming this afternoon and not tell them what kind it is. My sister couldn't guess what it was till I told her, but she liked it and isn't fond of ice cream either. I used to bake for a bookstore and a tea room, but after cooking for 40 years, I no longer enjoy it. But, I am very critical; it has to be and taste perfect which I rarely find anywhere.
The flower on my header is hawthorn blossom (or May blossom as we call it) and at present it cloaks the hedgerows here in the UK - a sure sign of Spring. It has a lovely almondy scent.
Yes, sweet corn is a big deal here in western Colorado. There is a sweet corn festival in Aug. in a town near here. The variety of sweet corn is named after the town, Olathe. All the stores here sell Olathe sweet corn when it is in season in Aug. We used to eat Country Gentleman when I was a kid in Illinois. I also lived in MIchigan and Los Angels suburbs and sweet corn was a big deal there too. In L.A. the corn was always grilled, some times a whole gunny sack full and all of us kids would eat and eat grilled corn on the cob. Great memories.
Candace thank you for the info. I was wondering whether it was popular around the states. It is such a staple here, kind of like potatoes. I love it grilled too with butter, lime and a little chili powder and have been known to eat it fresh off the cob in my garden,
Dear Donna- I have never heard of corn in the ice cream. Because you say it is good I am going to trust you. It certainly sounds quite different. Anything eaten from that beautiful cup must be delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie I kid you not. Delicious. It is a summer treat though. I would like to see it made with other tastes in it, like berries. Think that would be good. No one guessed the flavor, but after they knew, could tell what it was. Isn't that odd?
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