Pumpkin

After making various other fall flavors, I had to make some pumpkin and complete the Keuka Lake Duo. Pumpkins are one of my favorite things about fall- they are orange, you can make pie out of 'em, you can carve 'em, and brewery's make beer with 'em! What is not to love?! Oh yea, and did I mention that they roughly resemble the color of John Boehner's face after one of his tanning sessions?

Ingredients

Nutritional Info
Serving Size 1/2 cup Servings 8
Calories 366
Fat 23g
Sat Fat 15g
Carbs 19g
Sugar 8g
Protein 2.4g

Makes 1 quart

• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 6 egg yolks 
• 2/3 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup 
• 1 tsp. ground ginger 
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 
• 2/3 cup puréed cooked pumpkin 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 

*Nutritional Info from:
Livestrong.com/myplate Modified from, Saveur  

Equipment

• 3qt pot & metal mixing bowl or double boiler 
• Saute pan 
• Sieve/ mesh strainer 
• Spice grater 
• Measuring Cups 
• Measuring Spoons 
• Whisk

In a medium metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, corn syrup, ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It won't be the most appealing looking thing but it gets better.

Heat 1 and 1/3 cups of cream over a double boiler. In a double boiler it can be tough to bring the cream to a simmer- you'll know its ready when you can smell the cream.

Once the cream has come up to temperature, pour 1/4 cup of it into the egg mixture, whisking while you pour (easier said than done). If you have a sous chef nearby, have them hold the bowl so it does not move. Once the cream and eggs have been thoroughly mixed, pour the contents of the bowl back into the double boiler. Whisk the contents of the double boiler until it begins to thicken. You'll know its ready when it coats the back of a spoon.

After the mixture has come up to the desired consistency, pour the contents into a bowl containing the remaining cream, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie filling. Whisk ingredients together and place into an ice bath. (If it is nice and cold outside, you can cover the bowl and let it cool down in the fall air).

2 hours later, give or take, the custard will be ready for the ice cream machine. Mine took about 20 minutes.

I found that the ice cream freezes firm but scoopable (yes, that's a new word, take note OED). If you love pumpkin pie, this will be right up your alley- hell you could even throw a scoop on top of a piece of the pie and pumpkin yourself out! Of course you can do one scoop of both the pumpkin and cinnamon and really indulge yourself. The ice cream has just a hint of texture that reminds you there really is pumpkin in it, not just flavoring and spices. One friend enjoyed it so much, that he just about started to eat the ice cream right out of the container.

Coming up next are Hup Floats, perfect for cyclocross season. Hat tip C'Mac for the name.

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A Bold Look at Coffee Ice Cream

Ok, so not the best post title ever but what else was I going to do? A Speculative Look at Sumatra? Java, a Judicious Review? There are so many varieties of coffee on the market, different roasts, bean varietals, grinds, preparation methods that it makes for an interesting ingredient to play with when making ice cream. Is there a distinct difference between an ice cream made with Starbucks Via and say one made with a concentrate using fresh ground sumatra beans? What about preparation methods? Let the coffee grinds/beans steep in cream overnight? Filter the grinds or leave them in the finished product? So many questions and hopefully just as many answers.

Over the next few weeks I'll be trying out a number of different coffee recipes- some with grinds, some without; some with fresh ground coffee, some with instant coffee. You name it, I'll give it a shot!

Ingredients

Nutritional Info
Serving Size 1/2 cup Servings 8
Calories 200
Fat 10g
Sat Fat 5g
Carbs 22g
Sugar 22g

• 2 cups half n' half
• 1 cup milk (2% or whole)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 2 packets of Starbucks® Via Bold

Equipment

• Medium sauce pan
• Mixing bowl
• Sieve/ mesh strainer 
• Measuring Cups 
• Measuring Spoons 
• Whisk

Start by pouring two packets of Starbucks® Via into a bowl along with 5 egg yolks and the sugar. Its not going to look that appealing but it will get better.

Pour one cup of half n' half and one cup of milk into the sauce pan, bring to a light simmer. Once the milk and cream have begun to simmer, pour half of the pans contents into the bowl containing eggs, sugar, and coffee. Whisk as you pour so that the eggs to not cook.

Pour the contents of the mixing bowl back into the sauce pan along with the remaining 1 cup of half n' half. Whisk it all together and bring back up to a simmer.

Once the custard mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat and pour through a mesh sieve into a fresh mixing bowl.

Much like the Apple Cider Sorbet, it is very important to use a sieve. In my case, I overcooked the custard so it was a bit clumpy. After letting the custard chill in an ice bath for about two hours, it was ready for the machine. Mine took about 20 minutes in the ice cream machine and came out to a firm consistency.

In the end, I thought the Via® ice cream came out with a firm but yet smooth consistency. That may seem contradictory but it's not. The finished product froze to a consistency that would hold up well on a waffle cone and not melt all over the place. Most all of the grounds dissolved into the milk and cream but left just a bit of texture, almost like drinking a cup of coffee from a french press. The flavor was rich, tasting of a strong latte- the kind that makes you happy to be up early in the morning. Looking at other recipes coming up, I'm interested to see how the textures and taste profiles compare. Perhaps a Kenyan AA coffee will be next? It's sweet, fruity, maybe could even be a sorbet!?

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Apple Cider Sorbet Take 2

Last week I made apple cider sorbet and came up with so-so results.  It wasn't the taste that was bad but the consistency. The first sorbet came out icy and hard to scoop. Getting it into a bowl was next to impossible because it would freeze to the scoop. Now this might be because I have yet to buy a Zeroll Aluminum Scoopwith anti-freeze in the handle but a regular scoop should do just fine right?! Anyways, back to the actual topic, the updated recipe.

Ingredients

Nutritional Info
Serving Size 1/2 cup Servings 10
Calories 112
Fat 0g
Sat Fat 0g
Carbs 28g
Sugar 26g

• 6 cups apple cider
• a 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2tbs light corn syrup 

Follow the same directions as the first sorbet, mixing in the corn syrup at the same time as the sugar.

Results
I was expecting a smoother sorbet as a result of adding corn syrup. While it was not a lot of corn syrup, only 2 tablespoons, it definitely made a difference. The resulting product came out a bit more dense but also much closer to a texture that you would find at a traditional ice cream parlor. As you can see, it was easier to scoop and even looks better. Going forward I'll be using corn syrup or a derivation thereof for sorbets. Ideas are welcome!

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Nutmeg

Nutmeg isn't a spice that cook with all of the time. Yes, it's on the self-service bar at Starbucks, in pumpkin pie, and sweet potato casserole but I have never gone out and specifically sought to use it. I wasn't even sure if it was actually a nut- it's not, it is a seed and safe for folks like me who are allergic to nuts (thanks FAAN). This was a relief, as I am really not ready to die for the sake of making delicious ice cream. So with the knowledge that I was not going to end up in the ER, I started thinking of the ways nutmeg is used. Unlike cinnamon which was featured last week and is at the heart of many recipes, nutmeg is rarely used by itself. Nutmeg is like a little brother that tags along to play even though he is not big enough to hang with the big boys. But, if given the chance, could nutmeg stand by itself as an ice cream?

The recipe I chose is a custard base which I thought would add to the richness of the featured ingredient. Like a minor leaguer being called up to the bigs and splurging on a new pair of cleats, I too decided to get a little something to help the nutmeg perform at its best- a nutmeg grater. At $10, the Microplane graterwas a pretty good deal and can be used to grate any spices that I have whole in my drawer. So with some new cleats, I set out to give 'little brother' a chance to make a name for itself.

Ingredients

Nutritional Info*
Serving Size 1/2 cup Servings 8
Calories 295
Fat 19g
Sat Fat 12g
Carbs 23g
Sugar 22g
Protein 4g

• 2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (1 - 2 kernels)
• 2 cups half-and-half 
• 1 whole nutmeg, cracked 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 6 egg yolks 
• 1 cup heavy cream 

Modified from: Saveur

*Nutritional Info from:
Livestrong.com/myplate Equipment

• 3qt pot 
• Saute pan 
• Sieve/ mesh strainer 
• Spice grater 
• Measuring Cups 
• Measuring Spoons 
• Whisk

Toasting nutmeg will change its color

Toast grated nutmeg in a skillet over medium heat, 1–2 minutes. The nutmeg will change color from a light orange-ish brown to a pumpkin pie color. Remove pan from heat; set aside.

Heat half-and-half and cracked nutmeg in a 4-qt. saucepan until it just begins to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep for 10 minutes. In a bowl, whisk together sugar and yolks.

Whisk as you pour the cream into the eggs so the eggs don't cook

While whisking, slowly pour in half-and-half mixture. Return mixture to pan; cook, stirring, until mixture thickens, 8–10 minutes. You'll know its done when the it coats the back of a spoon as shown below.

Custard will coat the back of the spoon when ready

Pour through a fine strainer into a large bowl. Whisk in toasted nutmeg and cream; cover custard and chill. Freeze custard in an ice cream maker; transfer to an airtight container. Freeze until set before serving.

Conclusions
I really like the nutmeg ice cream but I don't see myself sitting down to enjoy a bowl of the ice cream as I would with say, mint chocolate chip. Its richness and overall flavor seems more appropriate for a Crème brûlée, alongside a pumpkin pie, a beer float, or perhaps a carrot cake. Stay tuned on Twitter for some trials with nutmeg ice cream in the days to come!

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