The perfect summer treat: Blueberry Snow

[TechBear_Seattle]

I've been working on this recipe for two years now, and I've finally got it right. Non-fat, reasonably low in sugar (compared to commercially prepared frozen treats), healthy and unbelievably yummy. You will need:

* Ice cream maker (I use a Cuisinart ICE-20)
* 3 cups fresh blueberries, cleaned
* 3/4 cup sugar (I use half and half sugar and Splenda)
* 3/4 cup water

You will need to start at least 36 hours before you plan to serve.

1. Check with your ice cream maker's instructions and take any preparation steps you might need.

2. Put berries, sugar and water into a sauce pan. Heat slowly to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until the berries are very soft and the syrup has turned a dark purple, about 25 - 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

3. Pour the syrup through a coarse sieve, pressing the berries through. Be careful, the juice can really stain! The idea is to break up any whole berries that are left. You can add the skins back in to the syrup or discard them.

4. Put the syrup into your refrigerator until thoroughly chilled, at least 8 hours.

5. Follow your ice cream maker's instructions, using the chilled blueberry syrup. I can look inside my ice cream maker as it churns; after about 25 minutes, it has tripled in volume and gone from a dark purple liquid to a light purple slush.

6. Spoon the frozen mixture into a sealable plastic bowl or a small oblong glass pan. Cover and put in the freezer for at least 3 hours before serving.


With my ice cream maker, the sugar slows down how quickly the syrup freezes, allowing a lot of air to get whipped in as it churns. The result is very small ice crystals that can be easily scooped and which melt deliciously on the tongue. It's like a soft power snow made from blueberry juice, thus the name. I like to serve it as one or two small scoops topped with whipped cream and a few fresh berries.

I have tried other fruits and hope to get exact recipes for those eventually. Raspberries work nicely, but are a bit tart with the small amount of sugar; increasing the sugar lowers the freezing point and you end up with a not-quite frozen sorbet rather than a dry snow. Strawberries should be run through a food processor after simmering, otherwise the berries fibers will freeze the ice into a solid block. Peaches taste heavenly (run those through a food processor as well) but oxidize something fierce; if you want to try that, adding some ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C) will help keep it from turning a really ugly color. And if anyone wants to help me out, I would dearly love to develop a lemon snow.

Any favorite home made summer treats you want to share?

[u4ic]

1. Sounds yummy!

:9

Thanks for the recipe. :hi:

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. One bump, for the morning crowd

I'd really like to know what homemade summer favorites other DUers have. :hi: