Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (92 page)

a dash of vanilla sugar

Crush the macaroons very fine in a mortar and then place them in a saucepan, adding the sugar, the yolks and the vanilla sugar; mix well, then pour in the milk a little at a time. Place the milk on the fire to thicken the mixture, as you would for custard, then pour it into the ice cream maker to freeze it.

You will have a delicious ice cream that makes eight generous servings.

Half these amounts make four to five servings.

1 liter (about 1 quart) of milk

200 grams (about 7 ounces) of fine chocolate

100 grams (about 3 1/2 ounces) of sugar

Grate the chocolate and put it on the fire with the sugar and 4 deciliters (about 1-2/3 cups) of the milk in a small saucepan. Boil the mixture for a few minutes, whisking all the while so that it is smooth. Remove it from the fire, add the remaining milk and then pour the mixture into the ice cream maker.

This recipe serves ten people.

If you prefer this ice cream even richer, increase the sugar to 120 grams (about 4-1/4 ounces) and add 2 egg yolks once you have removed the chocolate from the fire and when it is no longer boiling. Blend, return it to the fire for a few more minutes and then add the rest of the milk.

1 kilogram (about 2 pounds) of sour cherries

250 grams (about 8-4/5 ounces) of sugar

2 deciliters (about 4/5 of a cup) of water

cinnamon

Remove the stones from 150 grams (about 5-1/4 ounces) of the cherries, damaging them as little as possible, and put them on the fire with 50 grams (about 1-2/3 ounces) of the sugar and a piece of cinnamon stick, which you will later discard. When the cherries become syrupy and wrinkled, put them aside. Crush the remaining 850 grams (about 1-4/5 pounds) of cherries by hand, then crush a handful of the stones in a mortar and add them to the cherries. Strain them a handful at a time through a cloth, squeezing the crushed cherries firmly to extract all the juice. Place solid bits of cherry that are left on the fire with the 2 deciliters (about 4/5 of a cup) of water to get all the remaining juice out: boil for four to five minutes, then strain
the liquid through the same cloth, and add it to the juice from the first straining. Put all of the liquid on the fire with two pinches of ground cinnamon; when it is just about to boil, pour in the remaining 200 grams (about 7 ounces) of sugar. Stir, boil for two minutes and then pass through a sieve.

Put the juice into the ice cream maker. When it is completely frozen mix in the syrupy cherries, distributing them evenly throughout. Serve in small glasses, and you will see that it will be enjoyed by all.

This recipe serves eight people.

4 large oranges

1 garden lemon

6 deciliters (about 2-2/5 cups) of water

300 grams (about 10-1/2 ounces) of sugar

Squeeze the oranges and the lemon, and strain the juice.

Boil the sugar in the water for ten minutes, pour in the juice, strain the mixture once again and put it into the ice cream maker. Serve in mounds in small dessert cups or in a single piece.

This recipe serves eight people.

I offer you this recipe though this ice cream is nothing exceptional.

500 grams (about 1 pound) of red currants

300 grams (about 10-1/2 ounces) of sugar

150 grams (about 5-1/4 ounces) of black cherries

1/2 a liter (about 1/2 a quart) of water

1 large garden lemon

Crush the red currants and cherries by hand, add the lemon juice, and pass the whole mixture through a sieve, squeezing well.

Make the syrup by boiling the sugar in the water for ten minutes
in an uncovered saucepan. When it has cooled, add the red currant and cherry mixture, and then pour into the ice cream maker.

This recipe serves seven to eight people. Send to the table in little stemmed glasses. In addition to their special flavor, the cherries lend a prettier color to the ice.

While this ice is called “all fruits,” three different kinds of fruit are enough, as you can see from the following recipe, which serves four people.

200 grams (about 7 ounces) of sugar

100 grams (about 3-1/2 ounces) of very ripe apricots, weighed with the stones

100 grams (about 3-1/2 ounces) raspberries

100 grams (about 3-1/2 ounces) red currants

20 grams (about 2/3 of an ounce) of candied citron

1/2 a liter (about 1/2 a quart) of water

Boil the sugar in the water for ten minutes; next pass the fruit pulp through a sieve and add to the syrup, then add the candied citron, finely chopped.

Soft peaches can be substituted for the apricots and strawberries for the red currants.

The banana tree, Linnaeus’s
musa paradisiaca
, is popularly called
Adam’s Fig
or
Tree of Paradise
in his country because it is commonly believed that this is the famous forbidden fruit, and that its ample leaves were used to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness after the sin of disobedience.

It grows in the Indies and its fruit is in the form of a large pod whose appearance resembles a green cucumber, but it is smooth,
triangular and curved. Its pulp has a delicate flavor but can be somewhat bitter if not completely ripe; when making ice, choose very yellow fruits to be sure the bananas are ripe.

The following amounts serve six people.

4 peeled bananas, equaling 240 grams (about 8-1/2 ounces
)

200 grams (about 7 ounces) of white sugar

1 garden lemon

1/2 a liter (about 1/2 a quart) of water

Pass the pulp of the bananas through a sieve and then add the lemon juice. Boil the sugar in the water for five minutes in an uncovered saucepan; combine all ingredients and pour the mixture into the ice cream maker. Do not skimp on the salt and ice.

8 deciliters (about 3-1/3 cups) of milk

150 grams (about 5-1/4 ounces) of sugar

50 grams (about 1-2/3 ounces) of pistachios

6 egg yolks

Blanch the pistachios in hot water and crush them very fine in a mortar with a tablespoon of the sugar; then put them in a saucepan with the egg yolks and the remaining sugar, stirring until thoroughly blended. Add the milk and place the mixture on the fire, stirring constantly. When the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a custard, allow it to cool, and then pour it into the ice cream maker.

This recipe serves eight people.

Some people toast the pistachios but I do not, because they lose their distinct flavor when toasted.

They say that to deepen the green color of the pistachios, you can add some Swiss chard, boiled and puréed.

1 liter (about 1 quart) of milk

250 grams (about 8-4/5 ounces) of sugar

40 grams (about 1-1/3 ounces) of candied pumpkin

40 grams (about 1-1/3 ounces) of candied citron

30 grams (about 1 ounce) of almonds

20 grams (about 2/3 of an ounce) of pistachios

4 egg yolks

a dash of vanilla

Make a custard with the milk, sugar and egg yolks; add the vanilla and pour the mixture into the ice cream maker. When it is frozen, add the other ingredients. Blanch the pistachios and the almonds in hot water. Divide the pistachios in three parts. Chop the almonds into pieces the size of vetch seeds and then then toast them. Cut the citron into slivers and the pumpkin into largish cubes, which give a nice color to the ice cream.

Boil the milk for half an hour with the sugar. If the milk is of good quality you can make the ice cream without the egg yolks, but it will not be as flavorful.

In this case and in similar cases, almonds are best toasted in the following manner. Blanch and chop them, and then put them on the fire with a tablespoon of sugar and a drop of water. Stir constantly and when they have browned, halt the cooking process with another drop of water. Then pour the almonds in a colander on top of the remaining sugar and they are ready to use.

This is an ordinary ice cream, but many like it, since almost everyone likes the flavor of chestnuts. And here is the recipe.

200 grams (about 7 ounces) of chestnuts

150 grams (about 5-1/4 ounces) of sugar

1/2 a liter (about 1/2 a quart) of milk

a dash of vanilla

Cook the chestnuts in water as if you were preparing them boiled. Once they are well cooked, remove the shell and skin, and then pass through a strainer. Put the pureed pulp on the fire with the milk and sugar, and simmer in an uncovered saucepan for a quarter of an hour. Add the vanilla sugar and pour the mixture into the ice cream maker. Serve in a single piece. If you are serving nine to ten people, double the amounts.

This recipe serves six people.

Lately, this kind of ice cream has become popular at fancy dinner parties. It is usually served before the roasted meat course, because it aids digestion and prepares the stomach to receive the remaining courses.

450 grams (about 1 pound) of sugar

5 deciliters (about 2 cups) of water

2 oranges

2 lemons

2 egg whites

1 small glass of rum

a dash of vanilla

Boil 250 grams (about 8-4/5 ounces) of the sugar in 4 deciliters (about 1-2/3 cups) of water with a little lemon and orange peel. Remove from the fire and squeeze the juice of the oranges and lemons into the syrup. Strain the mixture through a cloth, and pour it into the ice cream maker to freeze.

Put the remaining 200 grams (about 7 ounces) of sugar in the remaining 1 deciliter (about 2/5 of a cup) of water, add the vanilla, and boil until a drop does not run when poured onto a plate or makes a thread when tested between two fingers. By now you will have beaten the egg whites quite stiff, and you are ready to pour the syrup over them while it is still very hot. Then beat well to obtain a smooth consistency. After this mixture has cooled, combine it with the ice cream and blend well. Add the rum just before sending to the table in stemmed glasses.

250 grams (about 8-4/5 ounces) of whipped cream, the kind that you find at the dairy

200 grams (about 7 fluid ounces) of water