Strawberry Ice Cream

Finally! Strawberries are in season and at their best. I swear I`ve eaten 3 pounds in the last two weeks. I ate so many that now I have a pound hanging around in my fridge. I kinda got tired of them. Whatever, I was craving homemade, creamy and rich ice cream and not the full-of-additives industrial one. Everything that`s homemade tastes at least ten times better.

National Child`s Day was on the 1st of June and my dad asked me what I would like as a gift. I wanted to say that I already have everything I need, but suddenly I realized that an ice cream maker is missing from my kitchen. So we got in the car and traveled to the nearest shop where I knew they were selling such things.

Guess what? I love it. Yes, I love my ice cream maker.

There`s a few things you should know: 
1.If you don`t have an ice cream maker, then your homemade ice cream will not be as creamy and will have ice cristals in it. Also, you can "still"freeze the ice cream but you`ll have to stir it every 15 minutes to incorporate air and therefore to turn it into ice cream. Keep in mind that this is labor intensive and you`d better not try this recipe unless you want it.

2.Don`t fill your ice cream maker more than 3/4 of the way full, as the air will get into the ice cream mixture and the volume will increase.

3.It is very important to use the best quality ingredients you can get your hands on, because it will affect the taste and texture of your ice cream.

4.Don`t be impatient and skip the step with the chilling overnight of both the ice cream mixture and the bowl.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole/full-fat milk

200 ml heavy cream (35%-40% fat content)

5 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

291 gr strawberries

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

1. Put the strawberries along with 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a food processor or blender and turn them into puree. Take a fine mesh sieve and pass the puree through it, in order to get rid of the seeds. Discard the seeds and set the smooth strawberry puree in the fridge.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and heavy cream together until they start to steam. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale in color, for about 3-4 minutes. Add 1/4 of a cup of the hot milk-cream mixture to your egg yolk mixture and whisk constantly. This process is called "tempering". I`ll talk later about that.

3. Cook the mixture stirring constantly over low heat until it becomes thicker or coats the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer the custard in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap to prevent a "skin" form forming and chill 6-8 hours or overnight in your fridge.

4. When the custard has cooled, fold in the strawberry puree along with the lemon and almond extract. 

5. The final step is to freeze the custard in your ice cream maker. Make sure the bowl of your ice cream machine has been frozen well (6-8 hrs in the freezer). Churn it for about 35 minutes, then transfer the resulting ice cream in a container and freeze for at least 2 hours prior to serving. Top with strawberry jam or sauce for a better flavor.