Corn Ice Cream

Recipe by Marcia Stanley, MS, RDN, Culinary Dietitian

Prep time 35 minutes
Servings 10

Ingredients

3 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Wait until the depth of summer and select home-grown, sweet, plump ears of corn for this classic Latin American ice cream. Fresher corn makes a sweeter, more delicious ice cream. Sweet corn ice cream may sound unusual, but it is oh-so-good. Just think about the sweet flavor of summer corn and imagine it mixed with luxurious, rich cream custard.

Instructions

Using sharp knife cut kernels from corn cobs. Place corn in Dutch oven. Break cobs in half and add to corn. Stir in whipping cream, milk and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Cook over medium heat until boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Discard corn cobs. Use food processor or blender to puree corn mixture. Return to saucepan. Stir in salt. Cook over medium heat until just simmering, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, in small bowl whisk together egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Whisk about 1 cup of the hot corn mixture into the yolk mixture. Return all to saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbles from around the edges (190°F), stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Press corn mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down firmly on solids. Discard solids. Pour strained mixture into bowl or food storage container. Whisk in vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours or until very cold.
Stir corn mixture. Pour into 1 1/2-quart ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Transfer to covered freezer container. Freeze about 4 hours or until firm.

Note: To make ice cream in a 4-quart freezer, double all ingredients. Prepare as above, except freeze in 4-quart ice cream freezer according to manufacturer’s directions. Yield: 10 cups; 20 servings.