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.
