It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Union Square green market and during my absence, the south side of the park has exploded with summer berries, fruits, and veggies. One of my finds was a delightfully fragrant basket of small blueberries.
Blueberries are loaded with nutrients and phytochemicals that have been associated with lowering the risk of cancer, preventing Alzheimer’s, lowering blood pressure and preventing urinary tract infections. As good as they are for you, I’ve never been a huge fan except in baked goods and pancakes, but this basket looked so tasty I decided it’s high time I give this underutilized berry a chance to be something more than a mere afterthought.
Helen over at Tartelette made some blueberry swirl ice cream the other day which looked absolutely phenomenal, thus an idea was born. Not wanting to be unoriginal and wanting to preserve some of the healthiness of the blueberries (ok… now that’s a total lie because this is by no-stretch of the imagination healthy), I decided to go with a gelato base (which uses no egg yolks and less cream). L has been drinking this blueberry tea that always smells fantastic so that’s where the tea idea came from.
This is quite possibly the best churned frozen thing I’ve ever made. It’s not quite as simple as the custard-less varieties I’ve posted about here, here, and here, but since it doesn’t use egg yolks it’s somewhat simpler while being ultra creamy and velvety smooth. The combination of the creamy tea and tart floral blueberries was what really shone and made me wonder why no-one uses teas other than matcha for ice cream? I’m thinking combo’s like Earl Grey and lemon curd, or strawberry jasmine, or even mugicha (roasted barley) fudge would be sublime.
Continue for more >>
Loading ...
