Monday Mealtimes: Strawberry Ice Cream
I know, I know - it's winter right now, so why are we doing a recipe for strawberry ice cream instead of a soup or something warm? In addition to being Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 15th is observed as national strawberry ice cream day, and while I love a good store-bought ice cream (because hello, convenience!), my husband has recently turned me on to the good old fashioned homemade ice cream. This is one of his recipes, and while he uses an ice cream maker in the kitchen at his work, this one will do just fine with a stand mixer (a stick mixer will also work, or if you're in need of a good arm work out, a whisk can work in a pinch).
So how does one make amazing, creamy homemade strawberry ice cream? Let me tell you!
Ingredients you'll need:
1 pound of fresh strawberries (or a 16 oz. package of frozen, thawed and drained)
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups of cold heavy whipping cream
A few drops of red food coloring for that familiar pink coloring (Not down with dyes? No problem! You can order some natural dyes from Color Kitchen, or leave it out entirely)
First, you'll want to crush your strawberries to a nice mashed consistency. If you're using the fresh berries, Adam says to keep your juice, but if you're using the frozen ones, make sure you drain them before you smash them. This is important so that your ice cream comes out well!
Once that's done, take your cold (important!) heavy whipping cream and your can of sweetened condensed milk (note: make sure it's not evaporated milk - that's very, very different) and pour it into your mixing bowl. This is where the magic happens, so start out on a slow speed and once you start getting a thicker consistency, hike the speed up some until you get gorgeous whipped cream peaks. Make sure you don't over-whip it! I know it sounds strange, but you'll "break" it if you do.
Once that's done, stir your crushed strawberries in by hand. If you're adding any coloring, now's the time to stir that in, as well.
Put the mixture in an air tight container and pop it in the freezer! You can garnish with additional sliced strawberries if you'd like, but it would be fine without it. Personal preference! If you're wanting a soft-service consistency, take it out after about 3 hours. For firmer, you'll want to leave it in 5-6 hours. Just keep in mind that if you leave it in there for longer, you'll want to give it a little breathing room to go from brick-solid to more easily edible.
While you're enjoying your fresh, home made ice cream (or hey, no judgment if you grabbed a tub from the store!), we'll leave you with this quote on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. -Martin Luther King Jr.