Tuesday, August 30, 2011

fennel ice cream.


either you love it or you hate it.

it's the same with anis, pastis, ouzo and of course the common taste you associate with all of these: liquorice.
i personally like liquorice - especially soft, salty kinds.
the stuff that sticks to the roof of your mouth.

(by the way, i'm going to make liquorice ice cream soon!)

well, and fennel, i had known it to be in teas.
so when my boss made fennel ice cream at work, i was surprised at it's sweet and smooth taste.
so i snatched some seeds and this morning before work (at 4:30 AM!) i crushed my fennel seeds and boiled the milk and set it aside to seep while i'm gone.
later, i froze the ice cream and out came a beautiful, pure ice cream.
pure in a sense that it was very clean tasting. 
it was sweet, not bitter in the least, and the fennel taste was not overwhelming and too strong.

some affiliate fennel with being medicinal.
anywho, i'm sure this ice cream's good for you!


fennel ice cream
1 tbsp fennel seeds
175g milk
80g sugar
2 egg yolks
200g cream

make the ice cream mixture 6-24 hours in advance.

crush the fennel seeds. 
you don't have to grind them, just use an object with a larger blunt end to break the seeds open a bit.
meanwhile, bring the milk to a boil.
remove from heat, add the fennel seeds and cover.
let seep for at least 6 hours.
then sieve the mixture to remove all seeds.
reheat the mixture with the sugar.
warm the egg yolks slightly.
when fennel mix boils, pour into the egg yolks, stirring vigorously.
stir in the cream.
chill before freezing your ice cream in your ice cream maker according to your manufacturer's instructions.