(Mis)adventures in Ice Cream Making, Part III

[mark_asphodel]

So where I live, the redcurrants hit the market a few weeks after the blackcurrants.  In both cases, you snap them up quick or they're gone.

Redcurrants are probably the prettiest fruit in existence; they look like polished gems.  It almost hurts to crush them.  They're also super-high in pectin, the thing that makes jellies gel, which is likely why so many of the currant ice cream recipes get away with being composed of cream, fruit, and sugar-- without churning.  

I used this recipe, which was about as simple as can be.  I did let the currant/sugar mixture chill for a couple of days, and it was a lump of gelatine when I took it out of the fridge.  Fortunately it beat down into a smoother gel that incorporated nicely with the cream.  Plop it in the freezer overnight and you do end up with a pretty credible creamy dessert that makes a lovely parfait when layered with shortbread crumbs.  It's not as divine as that blackcurrant ripple ice cream, which is A-1 fucking amazing, but it's good.  Very good.

(About 1/5 the redcurrants went moldy in the basket and so I ended up with 4/5 of a batch of ice cream and no garnish.  Oh well.)

Comments

[amielleon]

Wow. Those are so pretty they almost look like they're made of resin and paint.

[mark_asphodel]

They look like fake vinyl fruit in the sun.

[amusetache]

It's so pretty, it makes me want to eat it posthaste. :x

[mark_asphodel]

Nice and tart! Very refreshing.

[scarletmorning]

Oh, my grandpa has some redcurrant bushes in his garden. I've made some awesome jelly with those. Eating them just so is not so nice, though. They seem to consist solely of seeds :x Jelly is awesome, though, especially on Hefezopf (http://www.goccus.com/image-upload/magazin/mozartzopf.jpg) 8D

[mark_asphodel]

Yeah, redcurrant jelly is great. I like it on meatballs.