Homemade ice cream

With the onset of the summer heat, the attitude towards the cold changes: not only do we no longer feel hostility to winter, but we are even ready to voluntarily let it into our home – in a tamed, harmless form. For example, in a glass of ice cream.

The idea of ​​chilled desserts arose in antiquity, but until the second half of the XNUMXth century, they were available only to the upper strata of society: only the elite could buy natural snow and ice for ice cream, and the technologies that existed then made it possible to prepare only the simplest types of this delicacy. Thus, the Roman historian Suetonius, describing Nero’s gastronomic tastes, says that one of his favorite dishes was frozen peaches: a stone was removed from the fruit, replacing it with a small piece of ice, after which it was served, overlaid with snow.

However, the Chinese have achieved the greatest art in making ice cream: they were the first to learn how to use milk, cream and eggs to make ice cream. According to legend, it was from China that the recipe for this dessert came to Europe – it is believed that the Venetian Marco Polo brought it from the Celestial Empire to his homeland. However, it is more likely that ice cream came to Europe from the Middle East: in the midst of the scorching heat, the caliphs of holy Mecca and the sultans of Egypt enjoyed cool sorbets, ice for which camel caravans delivered from the Syrian highlands with incredible difficulty. Needless to say, the food obtained at the cost of such efforts was literally worth its weight in gold.

Russia also contributed to the improvement of ice cream – we have never had a lack of snow and ice: on Shrovetide, pancakes were served with thinly planed frozen milk or cream, which were sometimes sweetened with honey. Despite the simplicity of this dish, it was appreciated even at the imperial court: it is known that pancakes with planed cream were loved by Elizabeth I and Catherine II.

The mass distribution of ice cream began in the second half of the century before last, when methods for the production of artificial ice were discovered. It was then that ice cream appeared: creamy and milk, fruit and chocolate, light and satisfying, which we know and love today. At the same time, the tradition of making ice cream at home was practically lost: in fact, why work hard if you can get it in any store or cafe? Meanwhile, it is not at all difficult to prepare delicate, light and unusual ice cream at home: many types of this delicacy do not require constant stirring during the cooling process. An ordinary freezer capable of maintaining a temperature of -18 ° C is enough.

The easiest to prepare are various sorbets and granita – low-fat varieties of ice cream with a high content of fruit juice or puree. To make granita, take any juicy fruit and grind it in a blender (if you use berries with small stones, such as raspberries or strawberries, the resulting puree will have to be rubbed through a sieve). In parallel, prepare a thin sugar syrup: for two parts of sugar, you need about three parts of water. Mix the fruit puree with approximately an equal volume of syrup and a couple of tablespoons of lemon or lime juice (they will help preserve the dessert’s beautiful color), pour into a mold and put in the freezer for two to three hours, then remove and mix thoroughly with a fork. Leave in the freezer for another five to six hours, and half an hour before serving, remove and let stand at room temperature. When the granite has melted a little, scraping off the surface with a spoon, transfer it to the bowls – this way you will give your dessert a beautiful grainy structure.

We are used to the fact that ice cream must certainly be sweet. However, even in the XNUMXth century, ice cream with the taste of parmesan, tomatoes, olives, peppers was very popular … And today in Japan they prepare excellent slightly bitter ice cream with the taste of green tea, and the famous British culinary specialist Jamie Oliver recommends eating vanilla ice cream with … large sea ​​salt and olive oil. According to him, the resulting combination has a rich and refined taste, and hard salt crystals perfectly set off the delicate sweetness of the creamy dessert. If you are not ready to dare such a risky experiment, try to diversify lemon sorbet with rosemary flavor first. To do this, add a couple of tablespoons of coarsely chopped fresh rosemary to the hot sugar syrup and leave the mixture to cool. Then filter, add lemon juice and zest and put in the freezer for two to three hours, occasionally removing and stirring. After that, grind the sorbet in a blender and put it back in the freezer for several hours, and preferably overnight. A delicate and spicy herbal scent and an exquisite coniferous note emphasize the refreshing lightness of a lemon dessert. By the way, the famous Russian confectioner Alexander Seleznev in his book “Culinary Holidays” recommends preparing sorbets with other garden herbs: mint, lemon balm, parsley, dill …