Ginger Ice Cream (you learn something new every day)

So I was looking for an ice cream recipe last week and I came across one for Ginger Honey Ice Cream in the book Dolce Italiano, Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen. It's by Gina DePalma, with a forward by that Mario guy. It involved grating 3 oz. of ginger root through a Microplane, dumping it into a mixture of milk and cream, bringing that just to the boil, and then steeping it for half an hour before using it to make a custard and then freezing it. (Some of you may be shaking your heads already.) So I went ahead, following the directions, and was quite surprised when I watched my milk/cream mix curdle upon addition of the ginger. I whisked it furiously and managed to get it back to something of a liquid consistency before following the rest of the recipe (with a couple of added straining steps to get rid of the curds). The ice cream was very good, with a lot of ginger heat, but the high level of fat in it coated my tongue in a way I don't like. I thought I'd try again using a mix of half-and-half and milk in order to cut down on the fat. When I added the ginger this time, the curdling was even worse. When all was said and done, I'd strained out about half of the custard before it went into the ice cream freezer. So obviously, Ms. DePalma was leaving something out of the recipe. A little quick internet snooping and the answer was clear. Ginger contains zingipain, an enzyme which causes the proteins in milk to denature and curdle. There's a Chinese dessert called ginger milk pudding, which relies on the curdling power of ginger juice to make milk seize up.

So thanks a lot, Gina. I like what I got out of the recipe, but a little warning would have been much appreciated.

I've never seen raw ginger used like that. The recipes I've read - from trusted sources - either blanch it first, make a simple syrup, or, in one recipe, add it to the finished custard (but take it out before churning).

I hope you wrote in the book so you don't make the same mistake next summer.

Bet the ice cream was good!

I tried wasabi ice cream once - mmmm! Likely a similar sort of burn.

Jeff -

Those seem to be the two approaches that are used for ginger ice cream. Blanching the ginger prior to putting it hot milk will prevent curdling but will also reportedly reduce the intensity of the ginger. Adding grated ginger to the custard at the end of the process sounds like the way to go to get that nice burn.

Bill - I liked the finished product a lot.. I just wish it hadn't been such a pain to make.

[Jenise]

Funny; I love heat. Chili heat, wasabi heat--bring it on! But for some reason ginger-heat is unpleasant to me. Am I the only one?

...for some reason ginger-heat is unpleasant to me. Am I the only one?

Yes!

One of the more interesting things I drank recently was riesling with homemade ginger syrup, served in proper glass stems at our local Berlin farmer's market. It made such perfect sense because I often get notes of ginger in dry riesling and think about pairing moderate ginger flavors with dry riesling. So why not do it directly!

[Jenise]

...for some reason ginger-heat is unpleasant to me. Am I the only one?

Yes!

One of the more interesting things I drank recently was riesling with homemade ginger syrup, served in proper glass stems at our local Berlin farmer's market. It made such perfect sense because I often get notes of ginger in dry riesling and think about pairing moderate ginger flavors with dry riesling. So why not do it directly!

Totally agree about ginger in Riesling (and not just dry). It's one of the reasons rieslings go so well with Chinese food. I recently bought some Donnhoff GG's that I look forward to pairing that way (if Donnhoff can't sell me on dry riesling, no one can).

[Jenise]

I can sum up my feelings about ginger thusly: Canada Dry yes, Verner's no.

I can sum up my feelings about ginger thusly: Canada Dry yes, Verner's no.

If you ever see Blenheim's ginger beer, run the other way as fast as you can. It's so hot that it makes me cough.

Blenheim's was originally bottled as a curative: The basic ingredient, back then, was a nasty but oh-so-good-for-you spring water that was rather sulfurous. So, to cover up the smell, they added ginger....

My go to ginger beer these days is Goslings. Mmmmmmm!! Don't care for either Verners or Blenheim's.

My current favorites are River City (made here in Sacto) and Cock and Bull. Gosling's and Bundaberg are right up there as well.

Bundaberg is good stuff; not easy to get, though.

I'm not a huge fan of ginger, or so I thought until I started to list the things I like it in, Asian food, ginger snap biscuits, gingerbread. Still unconvinced re ice cream but would certainly try it if it came my way.
Hey Bill, I am delighted to "meet" someone else who likes wasabi ice cream, most people think I'm
crazy. Easy to make, just infuse the milk for your custard base with wasabi. Or for a quick fix soften vanilla ice cream and thoroughly mix in some wasabi. Mmmmm

You all may be interested to know that in New York's Chinatown there is a place called the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory at 65 Bayard Street that has a tremendous variety of ice cream. Some of the flavors are Avocado, Black Sesame, Coconut, Durian, Ginger, Green Tea, Lychee, Mango, Red Bean, Taro, Wasabi, and Zen Butter. Those are called the "regular flavors". The "exotic flavors include Chocolate, Coffee, Mint Chip, Pistachio, Rocky Road, Rum Raisin, etc. The place has a Zagat Award of Distinction. Great to go there after a good Chinese meal....... or just wander in anytime like everyone else.

Ginger ice cream, ginger anything. I love ginger. I grew up on it: my mother was a ginger fiend, and used to snack on chunks of crystallised ginger while she read magazines and filled in crossword puzzles at night. One of my aunts worked in a chocolate factory, and after she left, for the rest of her life in fact, every week they would send her a box of chocolate, half milk chocolate scorched almonds and half dark chocolate ginger. A nice perk for former employees; I'd bet they don't do that for former employees these days. In fact, I'd bet that chocolate factory has been taken over or closed down. But I digress.

Here's the ginger ice cream recipe I used for the rare occasions I actually make it. The recipe was the gift, via forum, of the late Daniel Rogov. It incorporates honey, and white wine, both mentioned in previous posts as good matches for ginger itself.

Honey-Ginger Ice Cream
Adapted from a recipe by Chef Eduard Mitsche
Hilton International Hotel, Vienna

1/2 cup dry white wine
250 gr. honey
40 gr. fresh ginger, grated
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
6 large ripe peaches, halved and pitted
24 sweet cherries, halved and pitted or 150 grams of raspberries or blueberries
(may use frozen if out of season)

In a small saucepan combine the white wine, two-thirds of the honey and the ginger. Bring to a boil and boil until the mixture is reduced to about 3/4 cup. Strain and set aside.

In the top of a double boiler heat the milk. Measure out 1 cup of the warm milk and whisk this slowly into the egg yolks. Add this mixture to the remaining milk, place the pan over simmering water and stir for about 5 minutes, until the mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and strain into a bowl that has been set in iced water. Let this custard cool, stirring often and when it is completely cool add the strained honey-ginger mixture and the remaining honey.

Pour the mixture into a ceramic or earthenware container and place in the freezer just until it begins to freeze. Remove from the freezer and stir thoroughly. Repeat this process three times in all before covering the container with plastic wrap and letting the ice cream freeze solidly. Let the ice cream stay in the freezer for at least 12 hours before serving.

To serve, slice the peaches and place the slices in well chilled dessert glasses. Place a ball of the ice cream in the center of each glass, and around the ice cream place the cherry halves, blackberries or blueberries. (Serves 6).

Thanks, Matilda. That sounds great!

The recipe gets round the problem of fresh ginger curdling milk by cooking it first in a syrup, and then only introducing the syrup to the dairy component after it's been made into custard.