Sweet Corn Ice Cream

By MaryEllen

Jared Plummer, owner of Two Roosters ice cream shop, occasionally makes fresh corn ice cream at his shop. This version is scaled down for home use. Look for locally grown corn that “is so sweet and fresh you could almost eat it straight from the field.” See variations below.

Ingredients

• 2 ears of fresh corn, husked
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 large egg yolks

Details

Servings 10
Preparation time 1mins
Cooking time 1mins
Adapted from newsobserver.com

Preparation

Step 1

Slice kernels off the cobs and “milk” the cob by scraping it with the back of knife, collecting juices into a container. Reserve kernels and liquid. Should be about 1½ cups of kernels.

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and put another bowl on top of it; set aside.

Combine cream, milk, sugar, corn and juices in a saucepan, and heat until steam starts to rise. Remove from the heat and force mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl, leaving the corn casings behind.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks until uniform. While whisking, add a splash of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks. Continue to add dairy mixture little by little until half of mixture remains. Pour egg yolk mixture back into remaining dairy mixture.

Place combined mixture back in saucepan and cook the custard over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon, usually when the mixture begins to bubble.

Pour hot mixture into bowl sitting in ice bath. Let stand until cold, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Pour the cold mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Variations: Try roasting the corn on the grill before shucking, which adds a nice char and smoky flavor. Ripple or top with a fresh blackberry compote. Plummer use a ratio of 2 cups berries to 1 cup sugar for the topping. Or add a couple of sprigs of cilantro in the first cream, milk, sugar combination, then strain out. Add a ripple of sriracha for an unexpected kick.