Serious Eats: Blackberry Ice Cream

Each year I purchase a membership to a pick-your-own farm, and they have row upon row of blackberry bushes.  You have to brave the heat, the bugs, and especially the wasps who want to share in the blackberry sweetness.  But you arrive home with a bag full of beautiful ripe berries.  The only problem is that they don't tend to keep very long, so these had to be instantly made into...something.  So I picked ice cream to cool off.  The flavor was absolutely spot on; however, with cream being the only dairy, it leaves a greasy film on your tongue, kinda like the whipped cream on the Frappuccino at Starbucks.  If I made this again, I'd probably do half cream, half milk.

Blackberry Ice Cream
Adapted from Serious Eats

40 ounces fresh blackberries, washed and drained
5¼ ounces sugar
⅛ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
14 ounces heavy cream
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons bourbon, rum, or gin
½ ounce fresh lemon juice

In a 3-quart stainless steel saucier, combine blackberries, sugar, and salt. Using a metal spatula, crush the berries until the sugar dissolves (the spatula's comparatively sharp edge will minimize splashing compared to the dull edge of a potato masher). Using a kitchen scale, weigh the pot and fruit together, then make note of that number to track the reduction. Cook over medium heat until bubbling hot, then simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture has reduced by 14 ounces. The time required will vary depending on the size, shape, and type of cooking vessel, as well as the size and output of the burner, but expect about 30 minutes, and adjust heat as needed to proceed at a similar rate. (Try not to over-reduce the fruit, as it can produce unwanted flavors, but if you do accidentally do it, you can add back just enough water to correct the weight.)

When reduced by 14 ounces, strain into a large bowl through a fine-mesh stainless steel strainer. Press and stir the blackberries with a flexible spatula to extract their juices, until there's nothing left in the sieve but about 10 ounces seedy pulp, with 20 ounces blackberry purée in the bowl.

Discard the blackberry pulp. Stir the cream, cinnamon, and alcohol (if using) into the concentrated blackberry purée, along with lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Cover and refrigerate or place in an ice bath until no warmer than 40°F, then churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Meanwhile, place a 1-quart container and flexible spatula in the freezer.

When ice cream looks thick and light, shut off the machine and, using the chilled spatula, scrape ice cream into the chilled container. Enjoy as soft-serve, or cover with plastic pressed directly against surface of ice cream, then close lid and freeze until firm enough to scoop, about 4 hours.

For a blueberry version: Frozen wild blueberries, Stoli Blueberry for the liquor, and add ¼ teaspoon of orange flower water.