I mentioned that I had a plan to foil the long lines at the berry stand at the farmers' market. It did not involve setting my alarm clock an hour earlier. Instead, we went directly to the source.
Last weekend, on the way home from visiting grandma and grandpa (D's parents), we stopped by Westmoreland Berry Farm. Dear D (my husband) was reminiscing about the gossip in Westmoreland County when the farm was just getting started--who were these folks? That was over 25 years ago.
We spent a happy hour picking blackberries--the weather was unusually cool. The blackberries there are huge.
We picked enough to fill two large buckets. I'm not really sure how much we picked--two or three gallons, or more? But enough to make me feel pretty smug when I saw how much one measley pint was selling for at the market yesterday.
As usual, my mind is reeling at the possibilities. Jam, of course. But also blackberry syrup for pancakes. Blackberry soda--this looked fun and funky, a riff on all the homemade sodas out there, with a twist. Blackberry cobbler, with peaches.
First on the list, however, was blackberry gelato. I thought I'd try to make gelato--instead of ice cream--on the theory that the berry flavor might be more intense.
This is pretty intense. The blackberry lovers in our family--D, N, and I--adore this stuff. If you are wondering about the differences between gelato and regular ice cream, it has to do with the proportions between the milk, cream, and eggs (gelato has more milk and more eggs).
As a base, I used this recipe for gelato crema, which has no other flavorings (such as vanilla). My first attempt turned straight into scrambled eggs, or I would have made the plain crema as well to go along with the blackberry version. To avoid ruining a whole dozen eggs, I turned to Cookwise for help and found the techniques I needed.
Blackberry Gelato (adapted from Pamela Sheldon Johns' custard gelato, with a nod to Cookwise)
2 pints of blackberries
2 1/4 cups whole milk
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar (1/3 more than the crema recipe)
6 egg yolks
bowl of ice water to chill the custard while still in the pan
2/3 cup heavy cream--to be added with the puree after the custard is made
Puree the blackberries in a blender or food processor. Push the puree through a strainer to get rid of the seeds. Set aside the puree. You can also delay this step until you're almost ready to make ice cream (and the custard base is chilled)--that might make the most sense.
Prepare the custard. As mentioned, I screwed this up royally the first time, and I've successfully made custard any number of times before. Shirley O. Corriher enlightened me: use a double boiler. Use a good candy thermometer, if you have one. Stir constantly, and they do mean constantly. You are trying to get the custard to as close as 180 degrees as possible without going over. I actually found that hard to do with the double boiler (to get the temp up high), but better safe than sorry.
Okay, prepare the custard. Heat the milk over medium heat until bubbles form on the edges (Sheldon Johns) or until just steaming (Corriher). Watch closely--you do not want to let it get too hot.
Meanwhile, in a blender or processor, blend the eggs and sugar until thick and smooth. With your blender running, very, very slowly add the hot milk. If you add it too quickly, you will curdle the eggs.
Pour the mixture into the top of your double boiler. Heat the mixture over boiling water, stirring constantly. If you have your thermometer, keep checking to make sure you are below 180. Corriher says the custard will thicken between 160 and 180 degrees, and there is no exact number. I found the custard didn't thicken until it had reached 180, which fits with recipes I've read elsewhere.
Your custard is thick enough when it "coats the back of a wooden spoon." Don't be confused by the foamy mixture which initially coats the spoon just fine but is still runny. Pull the pot off the heat and set in the bowl of ice water. Stir for a couple of minutes and then chill the mixture in the fridge. I've found I must chill ice cream bases at least 5 hours or more--overnight is best--or the ice cream just won't set firmly enough in the ice cream maker.
After the custard base is sufficiently chilled, stir the puree into the custard base. Next, make whipped cream from the heavy cream, and fold it into the mixture. Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the machine's instructions.
