# 10 : Ice Cream

There are two stories of origin for ice cream. One story says that Emperor Nero would send his slaves into the mountains to gather ice and snow, which would then be mixed with nectar, fruit pulp and honey. Another story is that the Chinese King Tang, in the 5th, century had many ways of making ice and milk concoctions. They were brought to Europe by Marco Pollo.

There is a large gap where the histories have lost who decided to add salt to a cream mixture and churn and freeze it to create something like what we enjoy today. It was not until 1776 that the first ice cream shop was opened in New York. Even then it was not until 1846 that production was simplified by the invention of the hand crank freezer. Furthermore it was 1856 that mechanical refrigeration became commercially available allowing the mass production and distribution of ice cream.

METHOD
Roasting Cherries

1. Preheat your grill to 400°F.
2. Wash and stem the cherries. Coat with the cooking oil. Then place on a cookie sheet, or in the wok topper and grill-roast for about 25 minutes, or until they become fragrant and burst.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside until they are cool enough to remove the pits. (Don’t forget to turn off the grill.)

Making the Ice Cream

1. Mix 2 tbsp. of milk in a bowl with the cornstarch to make a smooth paste. Whisk the goat’s cheese and the cream cheese with the salt in a medium bowl until it is smooth.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
3. Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4 quart saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 4 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for about 1 minute, stirring with a rubber spatula, the mixture should thicken slightly. Remove from the heat again.
4. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cheese until smooth. Pour the milk and cheese into a 1 gallon ziploc bag (preferably a freezer bag) and submerge in the ice bath. Let it stand, adding more ice as necessary, until the mixture is cold. This should take about 30 minutes.
5. Pour the ice cream base into a frozen ice cream canister and spin it until the mixture is thick and creamy. Pack the ice cream into a storace container, alternating between layers of cherries and ice cream. Press a piece of parchment paper against the surface of the ice cream and then seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until it is firm. About 4 hours.

Happy Grilling!