Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Food

VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.
• In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.
• Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

BROWN SUGAR VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Split the vanilla bean down the middle with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds. Set aside pods and seeds.
• Combine the milk and the cream in a large heavy bottomed saucepan and bring just to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the vanilla bean pods and the seeds, then cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
• Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar and egg yolks until well mixed, will be light a fluffy.
• Remove the cover from the saucepan and return the milk mixture just to a boil. Turn off the heat and slowly drizzle about 1/4 of the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously. Adding the milk mixture in a very slow drizzle will temper the eggs, slowly bringing them to a warmer temperature without cooking them. You can increase the drizzle to a little faster flow, still continuously whisking until all the milk mixture has been combined with the egg yolk mixture.
• Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan and heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, be sure to scrape the bottom and corners of the pan as your stir. Continue cooking until mixture thickens into a custard and coats the back of the spoon. A good test is to run your finger down in a line across the back of the spoon. If the line fills in, it's not thickened enough yet. This can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes depending on the heat of your stove.
• When custard is ready, pour it through a sieve into a metal or glass bowl. Remove the pods from the strainer and set aside (to make vanilla sugar!*). Use a rubber spatula to ensure that you scrape out all the vanilla bean seeds from the saucepan. Stir in vanilla extract.
• Place bowl of custard into a larger bowl of ice water to help it cool, stirring the custard occasionally. Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Once chilled, churn the chilled custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Remove ice cream to a covered container and freeze until set.
• *For the reserved pods, allow them to dry, then push down into a bowl or jar of white sugar and cover. Makes a lovely vanilla sugar!

SERIOUS VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients (including the bean and its pulp) in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Attach a frying or candy thermometer to inside of pan. (see note below) Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the hull of the vanilla bean, pour mixture into lidded container and refrigerate mixture overnight to mellow flavors and texture.
• Freeze mixture in ice cream freezer according to unit's instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine. Once the volume has increased by 1/2 to 3/4 times, and reached a soft serve consistency, spoon the mixture back into a lidded container and harden in the freezer at least 1 hour before serving.
• NOTE: If you do not have a thermometer, bring the mixture just barely to a simmer. As soon as you see a bubble hit the surface, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil.

VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Combine the heavy cream, milk, and vanilla pod and seeds in a large saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, then remove from the heat.
• Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Ladle half of the cream mixture into the egg mixture and whisk to combine; return to the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-8 motion, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 10 minutes.
• Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a blender; discard the vanilla pod. Puree until frothy, about 30 seconds; pour back into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Transfer the chilled custard to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a resealable container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM BASE

Steps:

• To make the vanilla ice cream: Combine the cream, milk, salt, and 2 cups of the sugar in a large pot. Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a paring knife; add them to the pot and toss in the pods for added flavor. Place the cream mixture over medium heat, and bring up to a simmer; stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Ideally, the temperature should reach 175 degrees F (just below scalding) for a smooth-textured ice cream; this should take about 15 minutes. Shut off the heat, cover the pot, and allow the cream mixture to steep for 15 minutes to further infuse the vanilla flavor.
• In the meantime, combine the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl and blend them lightly with a wire whisk. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and continue to whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved and the eggs are thick and pale yellow; about 6 minutes.
• Using a large ladle or measuring cup, temper the eggs by gradually whisking in about 4 cups of the hot cream mixture. Return this back to the rest of the cream in the saucepan and turn the heat to medium-low. Stir constantly until the custard thickens and leaves a path on the back of a spoon when you run your finger across it, about 10 to 12 minutes (do not let boil.)
• Pour the vanilla custard through a fine strainer into another pot* and chill completely in a sink full of ice, stirring here and there; this should take about 1 hour. Ideally, let the ice cream base "age" overnight in the refrigerator before churning in an ice cream maker to improve the flavor and texture of the final product ¿ but it is still good if you decide to process it right away. Divide the ice cream into quarts** and churn each in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. When done, the ice cream will be the consistency of "soft serve." ***To harden the ice cream fully, freeze in plastic covered containers.
• Flavor Variations:
• *To make the Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream: Heat 3/4 up of milk in a pot over medium-low heat. Add 12 ounces of the chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted. Pour 1 quart of the strained hot vanilla ice cream base into the melted chocolate and stir until very well incorporated. Chill and process as directed in the master recipe. Fold in the remaining 4 ounces of chopped chocolate after churning while the ice cream is in the "soft-serve" stage. Churn another 1 to 2 minutes just until combined.
• **To make the Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream: Mix the strawberry preserves into the vanilla custard just before you start churning in the ice cream maker. Add the pieces of strawberry cheesecake and fresh strawberries after churning while the ice cream is in the "soft-serve" stage. Continue to churn for an additional 5 minutes or until combined but still chunky.
• ***To make the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Ice Cream: Add the pieces of cookie dough after churning while the ice cream is in the "soft-serve" stage. Continue to churn for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until combined but still chunky.

BROWN SUGAR-VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a large saucepan combine half- and- half, light cream,or milk and brown sugar.
• Cook and stir over medium heat just till brown sugar dissolves.
• Stir about 1 cup of the warm mixture into beaten egg yolks; return all to saucepan.
• Bring to boiling,stirring constantly.
• Reduce heat.
• Boil gently over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Stir in the whipping cream and the vanilla.
• Cool.
• If desired, stir in pecans or or almonds.
• Freeze in a 4-or 5-quart ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions.
• Note:freezing time and cooling times aren't included in cooking and preparation times.

BROWN SUGAR ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks and sugar till thick.
• In another saucepan, bring cream and half and half just to a boil over medium heat. Gradually whisk the hot cream into the egg mixture in a thin stream.
• Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, till custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 6 minutes). Do not boil!
• Strain into a bowl; add vanilla and let cool to room temperature
• Cover and refrigerate over-night.
• Pour into freezer and follow directions for your freezer.