Blueberry Yogurt Popsicle ブルーベリー ヨーグルト アイスキャンディー

We were trying to take advantage of the local blueberry season and, as a result of our exuberance, we ended up with an excess of blueberries. My wife prepared blueberry puree which can be used for many things such as muffins, sauce for pancakes or added to yogurt. This time, she wanted to make a cold desert using the blueberry puree. We took an easy way and made this blueberry popsicle (rather than ice cream which would have required an ice cream churn) (Picture #1). I remembered that we have a silicon mold which could be used to make a popsicle. The original purpose of the molds was to make “Bacon Cheese Egg bites”. But designed to be multipurpose they included some lids and sticks so the molds could be used to make popsicles.  The resulting popsicle is shown in picture #1. Actually we did not eat it as a popsicle but removed the stick and cut it in half and served it. This is easy to make and not bad for a cold dessert.

Ingredients:
For the Yogurt Base:
1 cup strained blueberry puree 
5 1/2 ounces (3/4 cup; 155 g) full-fat Greek yogurt, 5% milk fat (my wife made Greek yogurt from her home made full-fat yogurt)
2 ounces granulated sugar (1/4 cup; 55 g)
2 ounces (1/4 cup; 55 g) heavy cream (we used light cream)
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon (we omitted this )
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

Directions
For the Blueberry Purée: In a 2-quart stainless steel saucepan, stir together blueberries on low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a heat-resistant spatula, until the blueberries soften and exude some juice. Puree the mixture until very smooth with an immersion blender, about 15 seconds. Strain the blueberry purée through a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl to remove skin fragments (you should have 1 cup of strained purée).

For the Yogurt Base: In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, cream, lemon juice, and salt until well combined.

To Make the Popsicles: Whisk blueberry purée into yogurt base until thoroughly combined. Divide the popsicle base evenly between six 3-fluid-ounce popsicle molds (#2). We covered them with the lid that came with the mold and inserted the stick that also came with the mold (#3) (these may not have needed since we did not consume this as a popsicle).

These were a very refreshing conclusion to dinner on a hot summer’s day. They were creamy in texture and unlike the sorbet we made recently could be divided into pieces without the help of a “chisel”. The blueberry flavor also came through very nicely.

Buttermilk ice cream バターミルクアイスクリーム

Since my wife started making heirloom buttermilk, she has been exploring recipes to use the buttermilk she makes. One of the reasons is that since this is "heirloom", the prior batch is used to inoculate and make the next batch. She was worried if she does not make the next batch in a reasonable amount of time (few weeks??), the inoculant may get too weak to make the next batch. So she is trying to use the buttermilk at a regular rate. She made several varieties of buttermilk panna cotta. This time, she made buttermilk ice cream.

She topped the ice cream with peach puree. The ice cream was very good with a nice mild buttermilk flavor and the peach puree went well with it. (the original peach was too hard and the puree was much better).

We mentioned our old (then) ice cream maker with a compressor (self-freezing) in a blog in 2017. After that post, we again completely forgot about the ice cream maker until now. We got it out of the basement. I first tested it with just water to see if the compressor still worked. Amazingly, it did! The bottom of the chamber got cold and formed ice in a few minutes. Then, I tested the churner. It worked as well. This machine must be close to 30 years old and we are amazed that it still works. In any case, my wife was “good to go” for making buttermilk ice cream.

Ingredients:
1 cup (200 g) sugar
3 Tbs. (20 g) cornstarch
1/8 tsp. (0.5) Kosher salt
2 large eggs (100 g). I used pasteurized eggs.
1 cup (225 g) heavy cream
1 1/4 cups (285 g) buttermilk

Directions:
In a sauce pan mix together everything except the buttermilk. (I used a double boiler to reduce the risk of having the mixture curdle.) Keep stirring on medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken. According to the instructions, when the mixture starts to bubble keep stirring for at least a minute to neutralize the starch-dissolving enzyme found in egg yolks. Remove from the heat and strain the mixture to remove any lumps that may have formed. When the mixture has cooled to room temperature stir in the buttermilk. Refrigerate the the mixture until it is about 40 degrees. (I used an ice bath to reduce the temperature of the mixture.) Churn the mixture according to the instructions for the ice cream maker. The final product is shown in the following picture.

This was a wonderful ice cream. It was smooth and creamy. It had a nice bright flavor with an interesting tanginess (from the buttermilk ?) that kept it from being cloying or boring. It also had a somewhat vanilla flavor (even though no vanilla was added). Unlike most recipes for buttermilk ice cream, some of which call for as many as 6 egg yolks, this one contained only two whole eggs. The recipe said that the addition of the cornstarch replaced the need for so many egg yolks to achieve its smooth creamy texture. Having replaced the egg yolks with cornstarch we would like to think that this ice cream was better for us than the other egg yolk based recipes. (Although, in all honesty we would have to admit that the amount of heavy cream used may negate whatever “brownie points” we may have gotten in the health department for the reduction in egg yolks.) Even though, as I have mentioned before, in general, I do not like buttermilk, I had absolutely no trouble eating more than my share of this ice cream. And again, I am astounded that the ice cream maker still works.