I feel like there are two types of people in this world – those who plan out their meals thoughtfully and methodically, then buy the ingredients they need – and those who just buy ingredients that grab their attention and then come up with ways to use them. Now, good for you if you’re one of the first types of people – sometimes I’m just like you. But, more often than not, I’m in that second camp; I love wandering the grocery aisles and grabbing what intrigues me. Usually I have an idea in my head of what I might do with it (recipe tidbits from over the years will pop into my head), but sometimes I just think “Yes I should definitely get this {celery root/gochujang/za’atar/pork belly}” and then get home and turn to my cookbooks and the Internet for inspiration.
This time, it was with my Imperfect Produce box – scrolling through the list of options for the week, I decided to get a whole hand of ginger because I thought, sure – I like ginger. I should make something with ginger. Well, it turns out, that’s a LOT of ginger – even after making this recipe, I still have half of it left!
I’ve been in an ice-cream-making mode lately, so I thought ginger would be the perfect ingredient to try in my next batch. Turns out ginger provides the perfect balance of background spiciness with a delicate floral foreground.
And hey, if ginger’s not your thing but you still feel like ice cream, check out this recipe for fudgesicle-like chocolate ice cream instead!
Ginger Ice Cream
I was inspired by this recipe but made it my own with several significant variations.
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 c peeled grated fresh ginger a heaping 1/4 c is great; I used the large holes on a box grater to do this, but you can use a microplane or knife – it doesn’t need to be finely grated or chopped
- 2 Tbsp water
- 5 egg yolks
- 3 c half and half
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp finely chopped candied ginger optional
Instructions
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Grate the ginger, and combine with the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally – about five minutes.
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As the ginger/sugar mixture is heating, add the egg yolks to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
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Add 2 cups of the half and half to the saucepan, lower to medium-low, and heat till simmering but do not boil – this will take about ten minutes (better to go slow and not risk boiling). Make sure to stir occasionally, including scraping the sides of the saucepan.
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Add the hot mixture from the saucepan to the large bowl with the yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly.
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Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan over low, and heat until the mixture thickens over the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees) – this will only take a few minutes.
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While the mixture is reheating in the saucepan, rinse out the bowl (or….don’t) and add the remaining half and half and vanilla extract to the bowl, setting a sieve over it. When the custard is properly heated, pour it through the sieve into the bowl, pressing out all liquid from the ginger solids, stirring to combine.
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Chill the mixture in the fridge until completely cool (at least three hours), then churn in your ice cream maker according to its instructions.
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While the mixture is chilling in the fridge, you can finely chop the candied ginger (if using) – adding this to the ice cream maker when it’s about 75% of the way through churning.
Kristen says
I want to taste that. Now.
Annie says
come on over!