Home › Ice Creams and Ices › Lemon Ice Cream
Lemon Ice Cream
Rasp the yellow rind of 2 large fresh lemons upon 1/2 pound of loaf sugar. Powder it, and strain over it the juice of 1 lemon. Add 1 quart of cream, stir until the sugar is dissolved, freeze, and serve. If milk has to be substituted for the cream, it may be enriched by the addition of the yolks of 4 eggs. It must then the stirred over the fire until it is boiling hot, and the juice must not be added until the liquor has cooled. Time, half an hour to prepare.
A Philadelphia-style ice cream in its simplest form: flavoured cream, sweetened and frozen, with no custard unless you take the milk variation. The whole flavour rests on the rasping step, which is worth doing properly.
- Rasping the rindRubbing a sugar lump over the lemon skin tears the peel and drives the oil straight into the sugar. With granulated sugar, achieve the same thing by zesting the lemons onto the sugar and rubbing the two together with your fingertips until the sugar is damp and fragrant; leave it 15 minutes before proceeding.
- Loaf sugarLoaf or lump sugar was refined cane sold in cones or cubes and broken up as needed. Ordinary granulated sugar is the direct replacement. Half a pound is 8 oz, a little over one cup.
- QuantitiesOne quart of cream is 4 cups. Heavy cream gives a dense result; a mix of half heavy cream and half whole milk churns lighter.
- CurdlingLemon juice will thicken and can flocculate cold cream. The recipe strains the juice over the sugar and then adds the cream to it; if you combine them the other way round, add the strained juice slowly while stirring, and start churning promptly rather than letting the mixture stand acidified.
- The custard variationIf you use the four egg yolks with milk, do not take it to a full boil despite the wording. Stir over low heat until it coats the spoon, around 175F, then cool completely before the juice goes in, exactly as the recipe warns.
- FreezingChill the base thoroughly, ideally overnight, then churn in an ice cream maker for 20-30 minutes and firm it in the freezer for a few hours. The original says only 'freeze', which would have meant ice and salt, whether in a crank freezer or a packed pot.
- Yield and timingAbout 1 1/2 quarts, serving eight. The stated half hour covers preparation only; freezing and hardening add several hours.