It’s putting it mildly to say I like ginger. I love the stuff in the most potent of forms — pickled, candied, dehydrated, juiced. The only way it’s too strong is if I take a bite raw… but don’t think I haven’t tried.
This ice cream was maybe a bit heavy on the ginger if you’re not in love with the ingredient, but for Kat, her mom and me, it was perfect. (Just reduce the amount in the recipe if you’re iffy.)
Ice cream is my favorite way to end any meal, but the digestive properties of ginger make this flavor an extra pleasant dessert. And the recipe isn’t too difficult because you don’t have to make a custard first.
Ginger Berry Ice Cream
- 1 cup berries (I used frozen raspberries and blackberries)
- 1/2 cup fresh grated ginger (about 4 inches of ginger root)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups half and half
In a saucepan over medium heat, add grated ginger, sugar and water. Simmer about 10 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes. (I grate the ginger to allow more flavor to infuse the syrup. I haven’t tried recipes that just call for the ginger to be sliced. I would guess you get a milder flavor that way, but I don’t know.)
Pour syrup through fine mesh strainer into a blender. Add fresh or frozen berries and puree.
Stir in a pint of half and half (or milk or heavy cream).
Freeze mixture according to your ice cream maker’s directions.
As usual, to keep the ice cream from freezing too hard, I added a splash of vodka after I took it out of the ice cream maker and before I put it in a container in the freezer.
