Vanilla Ice Cream by David Lebovitz

By RoketJSquerl

The three most common types of vanilla are Bourbon, Tahitian, and Mexican. Bourbon vanilla, from Madagascar has a bold, very-pronounced flavor. Tahitian is more floral, and bit more elusive. And real Mexican is strong, yet creamy-tasting, perhaps my favorite of them all. Don't use the cheap Mexican knock-offs, since most contain coumarin, which is toxic and banned for food use in the United States. True Mexican vanilla should be similarly-priced to other vanillas and is worth every cent. The best way to tell if a bean is good or not is to take a sniff. Ditto with extract. Plumpness of beans doesn't necessarily mean it has more flavor or essential oils, it may just have more water. And if you smell anything smoky, that means the bean was cured quickly over the fire, rather than dried properly, and not of good-quality.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Whole Milk (250ml)
• A Pinch of Salt
• 3/4 Cup Sugar (150g)
• 1 Vanilla Bean, split lengthwise
• 2 Cups Heavy Cream (500ml)
• 5 Large Egg Yolks
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Details

Servings 1

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Note: Used vanilla beans can be rinsed and dried, then stored in a bin of sugar. That sugar can be used for baking and, of course, for future ice cream making.