Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry is one of the first fruits to make an appearance in the summer and I kind of went nuts over them this year. So far, I've made preserves, pie, cake, sorbet and ice cream.

I'm slowly getting a better understanding of ice cream making and went with a custard-less base to let the fruit flavour shine through. While alcohol and corn syrup is supposed to make the ice cream less icy and more creamy (an issue with fruit-based ice cream because of the high water content), I went with neither because I don't mind my frozen strawberry slices a little bit icy.

Use the best strawberries you can find - I only make this ice cream when strawberries are in season, and I do a sniff test to make sure the strawberries are fragrant and ripe before I buy them at the market.

Strawberry Ice Cream
Adapted from Cuisinart and Serious Eats
Makes 2 litres (2 quarts)

4 cups (1 quart) fresh ripe strawberries, divided
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Hull and quarter about 1 cup of strawberries, then slice quarters crosswise into very thin pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine sliced strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar and lemon juice and let stand in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Hull remaining strawberries and puree at high speed in a blender until very smooth, about 30 seconds. This should give you about 1 1/2 cups of puree. Add salt and remaining 3/4 cup sugar to puree and blend. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to filter out all seeds and fibres.

In a clean mixing bowl, whisk together strawberry puree with milk, heavy cream and vanilla until fully combined. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Strain off syrup from sliced strawberries and add syrup to the mixture.

Churn mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Five minutes before churning is complete, add the sliced strawberries and let mix in completely. Transfer ice cream to airtight container and chill in freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.