Sicilian Gelato Style Ice Cream Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Put 2 cups cream, half-and-half or milk, the sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. If using a vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and scrape seeds into liquid, then add pod. Cook until mixture begins to steam. 2. In a bowl, blend cornstarch and remaining cream, half-and-half or milk; there should be no lumps. Remove bean pod from pot and discard. Add cornstarch mixture to pot. Cook, stirring, until it starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce heat to very low and stir for 5 minutes or so until thick. Stir in vanilla extract, if using. 3. If mixture has lumps, strain it into a bowl. Chill until cool, a couple of hours (you can skip this step if you have a machine with a built-in freezer). When cool or if there are no lumps, pour into an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Honey-Jam Variation Substitute honey for half the sugar. Add 1/2 cup good jam to mixture before freezing. Buttermilk or Yogurt Substitute buttermilk or yogurt for half the cream or milk. Cherry-Vanilla Add 1 cup halved, pitted cherries just before freezing. Strawberry, Blueberry or Peach Add 1 cup hulled, sliced strawberries, blueberries, or peeled and chopped peaches before freezing. Coffee Substitute 1/2 cup very strong coffee for 1/2 cup cream or milk. Coconut Substitute 1 cup coconut milk for 1 cup cream or milk; add 1/2 cup toasted dried coconut if you like. Mint Chocolate Chip Add 1/2 cup minced mint and 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate just before freezing.

Steps:

• Whisk together 200 ml (about 0.8 cup) of the cold milk with the corn starch, making sure that there are no remaining lumps. Set aside for now. Blend the remaining 500 ml (about 2.1 cup) of the milk/cream, the sugar, the salt and vanilla bean (with seeds scraped out and added) in a sauce pan. Warm until steaming hot (not boiling!) on medium heat. Blend the corn starch mixture with the rest of the ingredients in the sauce pan. While barely reaching a boil, cook and stir for about four- five minutes, or until the mixture has begun to thicken and any possible "floury" taste (from the starch) has disappeared [and don't overcook: that would reduce the thickening powers of the starch]. Take the ice cream base from the heat and let the mixture cool down. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, discard the vanilla bean, and freeze according to the instructions of your ice cream machine. In case you have no ice cream machine, still-freeze the base in your freezer (see the link below the box!) - this base is perfect for still-freezing, by the way! After the churning, place the ice cream in a freezer-safe container, cover with plastic film and a lid, and store in the freezer. Notes Please note that you may want to adjust the amount of cornstarch used to find the consistency you prefer. For instance, if using a relatively high proportion of cream, you may want to use less cornstarch (1-2 tablespoons, suggestively).

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 cup milk and the cornstarch in a medium bowl; whisk until smooth. Combine the remaining 2 cups milk, the heavy cream, sugar and salt in a medium high-sided saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until steaming, 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 5 minutes (it will foam up a bit). Boil, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.
• Pour the mixture into a medium heatproof bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the mixture stops steaming, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate until cold, 2 to 3 hours.
• Stir the mixture, then strain it if it looks lumpy. Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's directions until the consistency of soft serve. Transfer to a freezer-safe container, cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.