Sweet Corn Ice Cream

Corn is technically a vegetable, a grain, and a fruit. Wait, what?

According to the Cooperative Extension Service, corn seed is a vegetable because it is harvested for eating. Corn seed is a grain because it is a dry seed of a grass species. Lastly,  corn seed is a fruit because that is the botanical definition.

Life can be surprising. Depending on your personality, you may float along or maybe you swim with the current. You might be one of those poor folks that is always swimming upstream. I often use the expression I am “swimming as fast as I can.” One way or the other, it really doesn’t matter how you navigate your river of life, at some point there’s an unexpected curve, a surprise. It’s what you do when you hit that surprise that makes all the difference.

In honor of summer surprises, I thought I’d share a recipe for Corn Ice Cream. It’s a real surprise when you taste it because it looks like a French custard vanilla. And, yes, it really tastes like corn! Try it with a blueberry pie or blackberry cobbler. It’s fantastic, just like many other surprises in life.

Bon Appétit Y’all!
Virginia Willis

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Butter Sugar Corn Ice Cream

This rich and creamy ice cream is pure indulgence. They call it “butter-sugar” because it’s multicolor yellow and white. Any sweet corn may be substituted.

Calories:

Author: Virginia Willis

Ingredients

• 4 ears fresh sweet corn shucked, kernels cut off, cobs reserved
• 4 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 9 large egg yolks

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Instructions

• Roast the corn kernels in a dry cast iron skillet until browned in spots, 4-5 minutes. Place the roasted kernels in a large heavy saucepan. Break cobs in half and add to pan with milk and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, then turn off heat. Remove the cobs and discard. Either using a stick blender to puree until smooth or transfer the corn-milk mixture to the jar of a blender and puree until smooth then return to the large saucepan.
  
• Bring mixture back to a just a simmer, then remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Add a cup of the hot corn mixture to the yolks, whisking constantly to prevent eggs from curdling. Add yolk mixture to the saucepan, whisking constantly. Continue whisking over medium-low heat until the custard thickens enough to coat a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.
  
• Pass custard through a sieve pressing down hard on the solids. Discard solids. Cool custard completely over an ice bath or refrigerate until cool. Churn the ice cream according to the machine instructions. Enjoy!

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