Thursday, October 25, 2012

Strawberry Ice Cream like Ben & Jerry's

I realise that most of the people who view Lick the Spoon are Americans, and so I think this needs to be addressed. A lot of people have been asking questions about measurement conversion. A lot of people have been commenting back telling others where to go. I appreciate the involvement, and I fear this is going to be a continuing thing around here. I'd love to please everyone, but I just cant convert every recipe into five different measurement styles for your convenience--I simply don't have the time.
All my measuring cups are in the Australian sizes. I prefer to use cup and spoon measurements where I can, it just makes the baking process go a bit quicker when I have kids hanging from my legs. Of course I use the scales where I have to (in grams, usually), and I use both imperial and metric measurements depending where I source the recipe from. I know this inconsistency is the source of some annoyance, but for the moment it will continue.
It was only very recently that someone brought to my attention that Americans have their own size of measuring cup, and measurements such as I tablespoon did not equal 3 teaspoons in all parts of the world. This can all get very, very confusing.
I have found, for everyone's benefit, a great link with all the conversion tables anyone could wish for. No, I am not going to do it for you! With the internet at our fingertips it's simple to do yourself. Just click on the link below:

CONVERSION TOOL

I am ever so happy to continue answering people's questions about substitutes and descriptions of some ingredients that are not common in their countries, but please, do not ask for measurement conversions. There are so many sites that can easily convert these figures for you. I'm always converting American recipes over, so I figure it's just as easy for everyone else. I hope everyone understands and finds the above link as helpful and useful as I have! It's the best conversion chart I have seen to date.

Now. I hope no one found that too unpleasant.
Onto sweeter things. I found this recipe for Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Ice Cream. Well, apparently it's as good as Ben and Jerry's ice cream, although I can't tell you. I never could convince myself I loved ice cream so much that I could spend so much money on a tiny tub. If it is on a par with Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, then you've just scored about 1.5 litres of it for about $5.
I can't tell you if it really is like Ben and Jerry's, but I can tell you everyone who tasted this ice cream loved it. It's by far one of the best homemade ice creams I have ever made. The website where I found it had a five star rating from everyone that had made it. Now I think that's saying something!
I made a few alterations to the original recipe, but only because I don't fancy big chunks of strawberries throughout my ice cream. There's something about chunks that puts me off. It's to be smooth, creamy and silky in my books. That's ice cream.
What is it like?
Smooth and creamy yet still light,  this pink strawberry ice cream has a lovely hint of lemony zest. It's so refreshing with the addition of lemon, it just makes the strawberry flavour sing. Oh my. There is no way I made enough of this ice cream! I think I can survive another tropical summer with a tub or ten of this by my side.




B&J's STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM (Adapted from Food.com)

2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups cream
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Hull and chop the strawberries. Place them in the blender and process into a fine puree. In a medium sized bowl, place the strawberry puree, lemon juice and 1/4 of a cup of the sugar, and refrigerate for an hour.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs for two minutes, until light and fluffy. Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add strawberry puree mixture and mix until well combined. Gently stir in the cream. Pour into your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer's directions to churn. Freeze in an airtight container. Thaw for 5-10 minutes on the bench-top before serving.

NOTES: You can use either fresh or frozen berries. I used frozen and it was sublime!


4 comments:

  1. This icecream sounds great! I'll have to give it a go. I'm with you on the measurements thing - I was getting a lot of questions about converting Australian to American (our Tablespoon sizes are different to theirs too) so I added a measurements page and direct people there now. It always amazes me that I get asked given how easy it is to use an online converter!

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  2. Hello,
    I am sorry to ask about a measurement in this recipe, which is a must-make for me. You see I went crazy buying strawberries when they were so cheap and now have a freezer full of strawberry puree. How many grams do you think 2 cups of strawberries, hulled and choped is? And do you hull and chop them before measuring in cups?
    Thanks so much,
    Regards
    Angela

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    Replies
    1. Hi Angela! I'm still happy to answer questions such as your own! I wouldn't worry too much about the exact weight. I also stocked up on strawberries when they were super cheap and hulled them and froze them so I'm in the same boat. I'd say I used about 350 grams of strawberries. I just piled them into the cup whole and they poked up a bit over the cup rim. You could add less or more, I don't think it's going to affect the texture of the ice cream if you make a guesstimate here.

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