Homemade ice cream on the Fourth of July. Hot summer days and swimming. They go together. We made many flavors of homemade ice cream growing up using an old crank ice cream maker. The closest swimming pool was in the country fed with freezing spring water. Burr! One of my favorite ice cream varieties is cherry ice cream. It sounds like a patriotic dessert to serve on this holiday. This version is similar a gelato type of ice cream. Plus it is very easy to make.
Gelato
Gelato translates to ice cream in Italian. Gelato is similar to American types of ice cream. Gelato is typically lower in fat–using milk rather than cream. It does not use use a custard or egg base. It is churned at a lower speed so doesn’t incorporate as much air into the mix, hence it is denser. It is served at a warmer temperature than ice cream. Gelato may have fruit added for flavor and some sort of a stabilizer–mine uses gelatin.
Very Cherry (Gelato) Ice Cream
I found a series of recipes in my old recipe box using either flavored puddings, such as pistachio, or flavored gelatins in the ice cream mix. With imagination, it is possible to make all kinds of varieties of ice creams. Cherry ice cream on the Fourth of July sounds patriotic.
This recipe uses cherry gelatin and canned cherries in heavy syrup. I use milk rather than cream for a low-fat version. This ice cream is so simple to make. To dissolve flavored gelatin or Jell-O brand, it must be heated. I heated the cherry syrup and added the gelatin to this. Then I added the sugar to dissolve it, too. Cool a bit, add milk and almond extract. Chill further. Then churn in any ice cream maker.
I served the cherry ice cream with a brownie. To get the patriotic red, white and blue effect, I added a maraschino cherry and some blueberries.
Very Cherry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1-15 oz can dark sweet pitted cherries in heavy syrup
- 3 oz package cherry flavored Jell-O
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
Instructions and steps
- Drain the juice from cherries and add to small sauce pan. Set cherries aside, making sure all are pitted.
- Heat cherry juice to boiling on stove, remove from heat.
- Add the package of cherry Jello-O. Stir continuously for 2 minutes until all the gelatin is dissolved.
- Add sugar and stir until it is dissolved.
- Set over ice water and cool to room temperature.
- Add milk and almond extract. If time allows, transfer to a container and chill in refrigerator further.
- Add to ice cream maker and churn until thick and creamy. When ice cream maker slows down, add the reserved cherries. Or stir them into the ice cream at the end.
Place the ice cream in the freezer to continue to freeze.
To Serve
- brownies
- Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed
- fresh blueberries, for garnish
- maraschino cherries, for garnish
Serve with Cool Whip whipped topping, fresh blueberries, maraschino cherries and a brownie.
Enjoy!
Reference
wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato
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