Did You Know? Man first began planting pomegranate trees sometime between 4000 and 3000 B.C. Many scholars now suggest that it was the pomegranate, not an apple, depicted in the biblical Garden of Edan.
I was recently contacted by POM Wonderful with the request of sampling some of their 100% pomegranate juice to feature here on Buff Chickpea. Being a huge fan of their products anyways, I was thrilled to get a case free of charge. Being the only brand guaranteed to contain 100% authentic pomegranate juice, POM Wonderful has always been the only bottle I look towards at the grocery store. And besides being packaged in a wonderfully curvy and creative bottle, the health benefits of this tart juice are amazing. Backed by $25 million in medical research, POM Wonderful contains no added sugars, preservatives, colors, or fillers. It has been shown to improve cardiovascular and prostate health, as well as being a fantastic source of antioxidants.
But what to do with all these bottles? My ice cream maker has basically sat in my freezer ever since I got it back in December, and I've been really wanting to start experimenting and perfecting my technique. The weather has been pretty miserable up until now, so the timing of their delivery was pretty perfect. The weather is warming, the sun is shining, and cookouts are bound to make a regular appearance on my back deck. To me, there's nothing that says Summer more than an ice cream cone. Soft serve or hard, jimmies or sprinkles, studded with candy or dipped into a crunch coat, the possibilities of add ons are about as lengthy as the flavors themselves. And there's definitely no better way to end a humid day at the beach than waiting in a never-ending line at your favorite parlor. I love ice cream, and I hope you do to.
The whole process of churning ice cream is pretty amazing to me. I mean you pour in some custardy-liquid and about 20 minutes later you have a bucket full of creamy, frozen goodness. And the result of my final creation was everything I could have hoped for. Sweet and tart, and studded with mini-chocolate chips, this was the freshest ice cream I've ever tasted. I definitely recommend consuming this the day it's churned, but I added some limoncello to keep it from freezing solid just in case we couldn't. And not to worry, it was still good a few days later, just not as creamy as day one. I was thinking of starting some sort of ice cream feature on Buff Chickpea when the weather warms up a little more permanently. So let me know what you think, and what your favorite flavors are. Enjoy your weekend!
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cups heavy cream
4 strips fresh lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 lb strawberries, trimmed and quartered
8 oz. POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons limoncello liquor
3/4 cup mini-chocolate chips
Combine milk, cream, zest, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and discard zest.
Whisk eggs and yolks with 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking. Pour back into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
Immediately pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl, then cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, overed, at least until cold, about 2 hours, and up to 1 day.
While custard is chilling, purée strawberries in a blender with remaining 1/4 cup sugar, pomegranate juice, and limincello until smooth. Force through fine sieve to remove seeds and any pulp. Stir purée into custard.
Freeze in ice-cream maker. Fold in the chocolate chips after churning. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden up a bit.
