Ginger Ice Cream, Part One

The past ten days have been exceptionally hot. Not so hot that people are dropping dead in the street from heat stroke hot, but hot like the start and end of every conversation is the heat and how are you standing it hot. I live in an old building that seems to hold the accumulated solar energy each day in its brick exterior and then slowly release the same energy inward every night. A window air conditioner is better than nothing at moving some of that energy back outside where it belongs. Not better than nothing like it really makes a big difference and boy is it a relief to get indoors and cool off, but better than nothing like a cold shower and a couple of cold beers and some ambien to top it off and the air conditioner makes it almost tolerable to sleep.

Like everyone else I have my coping strategies. They include lazy workouts in the gym with a focus on those machines located directly beneath one of the several vents spewing vaporized dry ice. They also include wistful lingering in the dairy aisle of the local supermarket. The worst of the heat is that I feel banished from the kitchen. Longing for a taste of my lost city, this ginger ice cream is the result.

Ginger Ice Cream (Adapted from The Perfect Scoop)

5 ounces unpeeled fresh ginger
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup finely diced crystallized ginger

Slice ginger thin, peel and all (I use a ceramic blade mandoline) and place in a sauce pan. Cover with water and bring to boil and cook for two minutes. Drain and return ginger to pan. Add milk, one cup cream, sugar, and salt. Warm till hot to touch and cover and steep for an hour or more.

Strain out ginger and return mixture to pan. Heat and then stir gradually into yolks to temper. Return yolks to mixture and heat, stirring constantly, until custard thickens slightly. Strain custard into remaining cup of cream, cool overnight, then freeze in ice cream maker. Stir crystallized ginger into ice cream at the very end.