Avocado Ice Cream

With the abundance of avocados that we have at home, the kids and I quickly busied ourselves in the kitchen.  First we made the popsicles which were finished in a wink.

With the remaining half, we made ice cream.   This is our first attempt at ice cream making and we decided to use Alton Brown's Avocado Ice Cream recipe.

Here is a loose interpretation of his recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sized avocados
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream

If you feel like you want to stay with the original recipe then put the 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice right back in.  You might as well also take out the 1/4 cup of sugar I added.

Directions:

First, we sliced the avocados in half, pit them and scoop out the flesh.

Put the avocado meat in a blender with the milk and sugar to puree.

Transfer the pureed mixture to a medium sized bowl and whisk in the heavy cream until fully mixed.  Place the mixture into the refrigerator and chill.

 

Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.  I used a DeLonghi ice cream maker.  The time it takes to process varies depending on the ice cream maker and how cold the mixture is.  (Mine took around 35 minutes, it could even be faster had I chilled the mixture for a longer time before churning it.  But, see, we are all excited first-time ice cream makers!) 

For soft ice cream, you may serve immediately. If so desired, you can also place in freezer for 3 to 4 hours for a firmer texture

Here are some things I made a mental note of:

1. Ice cream depends on a high fat content for its creamy texture and flavor.  Having said that, avoid using skim milk when making ice cream because its low fat content will produce a light watery flavor that lacks any richness to it. 
2. You can make your home-made ice cream stay softer by choosing a shallow container, rather than a deep tub.  It also helps to cover the surface of the ice cream with cling wrap to keep ice crystals from forming.
3. To further avoid ice crystals from forming, add 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin per 6 cups of ice cream mixture. Let the gelatin soften in 1/4 cup cold milk, put in gentle heat to dissolve the gelatin granules the mixture, add to the remaining mixture and proceed churning.   
4. Make sure that the pureed or custard mixture is chilled just right before starting the churning process to yield the smoothest ice cream.  Starting with a room temperature mixture might mean taking forever for the ice cream to freeze 

If you want the expert's advice on how to find the perfect ice cream maker, read this article by David Lebovitz.   He also dispenses advice on how to make ice cream right here.