Gourmet ice cream
A while ago, I experimented with a tin of condensed milk and discovered that condensed milk, double cream and thick greek yogurt make easy peasy gelato. That post explains in detail how to make it, and gives many different flavour options. No machinery is required for this, it’s just mix and freeze. I’ve discovered many delightful variations along the way. The chocolate one and the lemon one being my favourites, Mike would also add the Ovaltine one. I can’t have either the chocolate or Ovaltine of course, just a little taste.
Flavours
Lots of flavours occur. I’ve got several packets of cheap dried apricots in the cupboard, make a paste with some of those and that would be fab. You could dissolve some coffee powder in the yogort and make a coffee version. Or how about a few fresh raspberries or strawberries. Or some fresh figs if you have a tree. Or damson purée from foraged fruit. Or blackberry purée from autumn fruits stashed in the freezer. Toast some sweetened breadcrumbs and stir into a mix flavoured with vanilla. Make a peach or mandarin purée using the value tinned fruit, drained. You could use any of the flavours to make a ripple type one by stirring the flavouring through the condensed milk / yogort / cream mixture. Soak some mixed dried fruit overnight in strong tea or some kind of booze for a tutti frutti. Add a little splash of liquer, so a Baileys version, or rum and raisin, or raspberry and whiskey for a Scottish themed flavour.
Gourmet Flavours
So for gourmet ice cream, I would add maybe cocoa powder, crushed maltesers, and some caramel. Or make a luscious fruit compote, nice and thick, maybe with some alcohol in it, and ripple it through. Or do a rocky road one with chocolate, marshmallows, small chunks of honeycomb, crushed biscuit etc. Or mix in lots of lemon zest and juice, crushed meringue and lemon curd. Or for that classic combination, flavour the ice cream with coffee and mix through some fine chopped walnuts, maybe serve with some coffee syrup.
Home made ice cream without the condensed milk
I had a conversation with a chef and one of the things she said was that she used to make ice cream in the hotel where she worked using just cream and a jar of good strawberry jam.
So I tried a batch with half whipped double cream (300ml) , half full fat Greek yogurt (300ml) and half a jar of some fancy pants marmalade bought at a farmers market and never used. The best before date was 2008!!!!
Usual method, whip the cream, stir in the yogurt, add enough marmalade so that it tastes right. Result was stunningly gorgeous. The sugar from the marmalade was the perfect amount, but if the jam you used wasn’t, just add some granulated sugar until it’s sweet enough.
I had some plum and apple jam in the cupboard from 2013, that was delicious. It was surprisingly sharp and would need a smooth and creamy one to go with it
Using jam along with condensed milk, makes the mix too sweet, so this is perfect to use up jam, lemon curd etc. Well worth trying with the value stuff too to keep the price down
Thank you Lesley. I am Lesley too, also thrifty. these gelato ideas look excellent. i will try them in the summer. Thank you.
Sauces are quick and easy custard white sauce (milk cornflour/flour sugar to eat with a strongly flavoured pudding ginger or chocolate say never hear that now. Bread sauce and hard sauces for christmas who does manage to clear out all the jar of cranberry? Bought sauces are not a patch on homemade. An old student trick was jam jar in handbag to smuggle out a bought and paid for measure of spirit or liqueur from the pub cheaper than buying a half bottle for the christmas pud. I have just found a free and family friendly looking costing website called cookeepbook (google it)which I am going to try, because I am not great setting up spreadsheets use pen and paper byt this one is free and is going to be kept free so might be useful. Oh and sauces will freeze and fridge for a few days often so packets and cans arent always the answer to good cheap food. (I am not connected to any company but do delete if you want Lesley :)H
Flipping palm oil, it gets everywhere!
Not quite sure which sauces you mean, can you say more?
Drooling reading this thankyou will be testing cos its the weekend!! Could you do price comparisons for sauces custard to christmas ones please. I did a taste test on three tinned custards from the supermarket and reading the labels was an education the big brand that used to be full of ambrosial tasting devon cream with the beautiful cows has no cream listed but dairy products like whey and wait for it palm oil at a premium price. :/